Installation of "Cascade" with Gene Hopkins. Photo by Andy Goh

Jean Tinguely's Cascade Model

ABOUT CASCADE

In 1989, Andreas Bechtler commissioned "Cascade" from long-time family friend Jean Tinguely. A 40-foot sculpture hung over a fountain, it would be the last kinetic sculpture ever made before Tinguely passed away in 1991. That same year, "Cascade" was hung in the lobby of the Carillon building in Uptown Charlotte, an office tower developed by the Bechtler's commercial real estate company, Hesta AG. The original can still be seen at the Carillon, located at 227 W. Trade Street. Read more about "Cascade" here.

In 2000, Andreas Bechtler commissioned local model builder Gene Hopkins to create a ¼ scale model replica of the sculpture, complete with rotating mobile parts, working lights, and a fountain. Hopkins fashioned every piece of the mobile by hand, an ironic turn on Tinguely’s original, where all the components were found and collected.

Click the video below to see a time lapse of the installation of "Cascade", courtesy of The Charlotte Observer.

Click the video below to see Andreas Bechtler speak about "Cascade".