Tinguely Fountain, Basel, Switzerland

December 1969 Issue

Tinguely Fountain, Basel, Switzerland

The iron sculpture shown in the photo in the October 2014 issue is one of nine power-operated, water-spouting pieces of art installed in the Tinguely Fountain in Basel, Switzerland.

The fountain sits on the site of the stage of the former old city theater. The creator of the whimsical sculptures, Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925-1991), had black asphalt poured into a shallow basin in 1977 before placing the structures.

Tinguely was considered a “maverick postmodernist,” using scrap metal and bits of common “junk” in his kinetic sculptures. (More of his unusual metal sculptures can be seen in the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris.)

Nineteen people correctly identified the location of the photo, and E.F. SCHLENK of Marshalltown, Iowa, won the drawing. We thank Nancy DiPietra of Costa Mesa, California, for submitting the picture.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Ann Burk, Mechanicsburg, PA; Adam Cash, Berkeley, CA; Nylah Chilton, McMinnville, OR; Gary Dempsey, Camarillo, CA; Nancy Ganahl, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA; Dorothy Hutchinson, Frederick, MD; Stephen Jeffries, Centennial, CO; Jeanne Kiley, Indianapolis, IN; George C. Kingston, East Longmeadow, MA; Jim & Lindy McLellan, The Woodlands, TX; Martha Jo Morehouse, Glendale, CA; Kathleen Napier, Fort Madison, IA; Jean Paschke, Melrose, MN; Arne Pedersen, Little Silver, NJ; Raymond Prince, Maple Valley, WA; Brian Rogers, Mystic, CT; Barbara Schaefer, Elm Grove, WI; WINNER: E.F. Schlenk, Marshalltown, IA; Diane Wright, Richmond, VA.