Le Tellflipper, 1978

Le Tellflipper by Bernhard Luginbühl – located on the first floor, in a part of Le Cyclop closed to the public – is a monumental steel sculpture that enlarges the famous 1970s bistro game. This work was created by Bernhard Luginbühl, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle for the “Crocrodrome de Zig et Puce” exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 1977. Bernhard Luginbühl has transformed the pinball machine into a collective game with four levers. After operating a handle and pulling a piston, the solid-steel balls rush into the game, before falling into one of the nine holes numbered by a brass figure. Their passage creates an electrical contact that lights a lamp on top of the pinball machine. Originally, a battery powered the pinball lamp and a postcard depicting Le Tellflipper was issued in exchange for a coin inserted into a box hung upon the left side.