Stravinsky brunnen niki de saint phalle biography death

The Stravinsky Fountain French: La Fontaine Stravinsky is a whimsical public fountain ornamented with sixteen works of sculpture, moving and spraying water, representing the works of composer Igor Stravinsky. Within the basin are sixteen works of sculpture inspired by the compositions of Igor Stravinsky. The black mechanical pieces of sculpture are by Jean Tinguely; the brightly colored works are by Niki de Saint Phalle.

Because of the offices and rooms below, the fountain was designed to be as lightweight as possible, with very shallow water, a lining of stainless steel , and sculptures composed of plastics and other light materials. The Stravinsky Fountain was part of a sculptural program, launched by the City of Paris in , to build seven contemporary fountains with sculpture in different squares of the city.

Niki de saint phalle cause of death

This project also included new fountains at the Hotel de Ville and within the gardens of the Palais Royal. They were to be the first public fountains built in Paris since the fountains of the Palais de Chaillot were built for the Paris Exposition of It was also a major project by the City of Paris to redevelop the area around the old city markets, Les Halles , which had been torn down in , and to re-animate the area with pedestrian streets, squares, and works of art.

In October, , the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac , announced that a new fountain would be built near the Centre Pompidou , and announced that Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle had been selected to design the fountain. The financial agreement was formally signed on December 15, , allowing the project to go ahead. One sensitive artistic issue had to be resolved: the commission had originally been given to Jean Tinguely alone, and therefore the work would have been entirely composed of his black-painted mechanical sculptures.

But in May , he asked that brightly colored works by Niki de Saint Phalle who was also Tinguely's wife be included.