René Burri
Photographs of Jean Tinguely & Co

21 January – 22 May 2005

The world renowned Magnum photographer René Burri (born in 1933), whose legendary portrait of Che Guevara has been a photographic icon for many years, caught a number of important artists of the 20th century through his lens. The great photographer also realised numerous individual portraits and reportages on his friend Jean Tinguely and his work between 1967 and 1991. Camera in hand, Burri observes the artist at work in his atelier “Le Cheval Blanc” at Soisy-sur-École and during construction of the monumental sculpture “Le Cyclop”, literally peering over his shoulder. In the photographic series showing Tinguely installing his works at the World Exhibition in Montreal, in Basel or in Venice, the photographer manages to capture the artist’s spontaneity and essence – his fascination with movement – in almost cinematographic shoots.

For our museum, René Burri has made a selection of his black & white and colour photographs of Jean Tinguely and his artist friends (such as e.g. Yves Klein), to be shown in an installation with vintage reportages and life-size prints. Burri’s film documenting the installation of the Tinguely Retrospective in 1972 at the Kunsthalle Basel completes the presentation.

The Museum Tinguely and Magnum Photos have cooperated in realising this exhibition.