Jean Tinguely

Swiss, 1925-1991

Peut-être No. II (Maybe No. II), ca. 1959

metal mobile relief, motorized

overall: 28 x 28 3/4 inches (71.12 x 73.02 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Gift of Philip Johnson, 1963

RCA1962:1

Inscriptions:

inscription / back left / >>PEUT-ETRE NO II<<

signature, dated / back right / TINGUELY / 59

Object Classifications:

Sculpture

Relief (sculpture)

Information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

Jean Tinguely began his career composing sculptures from found objects. However, intrigued by industrial innovations of the time, he started to experiment with putting these static works into motion and devoted the rest of his practice to this exploration. In 1951, Tinguely moved to Paris, where he enjoyed great success exhibiting with the ZERO group and working with other avant-garde artists, such as Yves Klein. In Maybe No. II, Tinguely combined the chance arrangement of irregularly cut pieces of paper with precision engineering. The work continually rearranges itself slowly and erratically, escaping any fixed configuration and deliberately challenging what the viewer sees.

Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018