Created by sculptor
Jean Tinguely (1925-91) in collaboration with
Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) and their artist friends Bernhard Luginbühl, Larry Rivers, Jesús Rafael Soto and
Daniel Spoerri, among others,
Le Cyclop is a monumental sculptural work that dominates the forest of Milly-la-Forêt outside Paris. Elaborated upon for three decades, the collective project generated a total environment. Its exterior presents an immense head bedecked in sparkling mirrors, built almost entirely from found and industrial materials. Its interior houses a surprising universe punctuated with sound sculptures, a small automatic theater, machinery with scrap metal gears as well as homages to
Duchamp,
Klein and Schwitters.
This definitive publication tells in detail the story of
Le Cyclop, gathering new essays by an array of international art historians and scholars, an extensive chronology as well as remarkable archival materials.
