Reclining Torso

Like the joint vertical Male and Female Torso (inv. No. P 7145), the light-enhanced kinetic sculpture Reclining Torso was part of the light-enhanced kinetic Spa Fountain, which Zdeněk Pešánek designed for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937. He upgraded a traditional water feature with added sculptures by employing new techniques of light kinetics. According to the original design, the transparent torsos shining with curved neon tubes and the pulsating light of colourful bulbs were installed in the middle of a circular pool. Its circumference was fitted with fountain jets and colourful spotlights designed to provide monumental lighting and water effects. In the pavilion, though, Pešánek’s project was vastly reduced, though the fountain promoting Czechoslovak balneology was awarded a Gold Medal.