Liverpool's TATE gallery has always been synonymous with the weird and the wonderful from the world of modern art, and this Autumn's must-see program promises to be no exception.
Indeed, modern art doesn't come much more wonderfully weird than Jean Tinguely's "Joyous Machines", a series of wacky moving mechanical sculptures, which come to life and engage the audience in a totally unique way.
Co-curated by controversial performance artist Michael Landy, the exhibition showcases Tingueley's remarkable ability to satirise society through his sculpture, by questioning the over-production of material goods in western society.
Born in Switzerland in 1925, Tinguely moved to France as a young man to pursue his artistic ambitions. He is best known for his 27-foot-tall self-destructing sculpture "Homage to New York" (1960).
While this work only partially self-destructed, his follow-up piece "Study for an End of the World No. 2" (1962), successfully detonated and was completely destroyed in front of its audience in the Nevada desert.
Michael Landy brings Tinguely's wonderful collection to the Tate Liverpool on October 2nd. Although it will be an explosion-free affair, it promises to capture the imagination of visitors of all ages in a way that is both engaging and confusing.
Alongside Tinguely's work, Landy will display some of his own drawings and film.
A critically acclaimed performance artist, heavily influenced by the destructive nature of Tinguely's sculpture, his work encourages the audience to re-examine their own lives as he lays out his frustrations for the world to see, and of course to judge.
He is best known for his 2001 performance piece, "Break Down", in which he catalogued and destroyed all of his possessions, from his birth certificate to his car.
Prior to "Break Down", he produced "Closing Down Sale" in collaboration with Karsten Schubert, where he collected and arranged a host of "bargains" from shops, and broadcast supermarket-style announcements encouraging visitors to buy them.
The piece was intended to highlight the monetary value placed on art, and many of his subsequent pieces were intended to have no retail value whatsoever.
"Joyous Machines" opens at Tate Liverpool on October 2nd 2009, and will run until January 10th.
Visit www.tate.org.uk/liverpool for more information.
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