I was at the Pompidou Centre last week. I approached the museum from the Hotel de Ville passing by the Stravinsky Fountain, a fountain built in 1983 and ornamented with sixteen sculptures by Swiss sculptor Tinguely and his wife French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, (married in 1971).
Tinguely's sculptures are dark grey and move continually, spraying water jets in all directions. In contrast, Niki de Saint Phalle's sculptures are brightly coloured and much less mobile. When I passed the fountain last week the sculptures were perfectly still. It turns out that when the fountains don't run the visual spectacle is still very impressive. The sculptures and their reflections were beautiful, creating an additional work of art on the water's surface.
La Sirène (the mermaid), from behind.
From the front.
This Tinguely's sculpture, Ragtime, and its' reflection made me think of a bicycle doing a wheely.
Le Cœur, heart.
La vie (Life).
Le Chapeau de Clown (the clown's hat).
And finally, a watery tableau.
