Jun 08, 2023 - Sale 2640

Sale 2640 - Lot 133

Price Realized: $ 2,860
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 5,000
JEAN TINGUELY
Homage to New York.

Collection of ephemera relating to Homage to New York, comprising an ink on paper remnant, six photographs of the performance, a ticket, and The Museum of Modern Art press release, 1960. Remnant 805x95 mm; 31 1/2x3 1/2 inches.

Provenance: Norman Dolph, New York; thence by descent to the current owner.

In the spring of 1960, Tinguely (1925-1991) created an assemblage made of used bicycle wheels, motors, and a bathtub, among other found objects, that was built to self destruct. On the evening of March 17, 1960 those invited gathered in the garden of The Museum of Modern Art to watch the machine operate for a brief period—discharging colored smoke, creating and destroying paintings, and crashing bottles—before its self-destruction began. Its destruction took thirty minutes after which the attendees found souvenirs amongst the rubble before the fire department stepped in and dispersed the crowd.