Tinguely's, where he made a huge contraption in the backyard of the Museum of Modern Art called 'Homage to New York'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MqsWqBX4wQ, which was a machine that destroyed itself in various humorous ways. It's that breakdown system along with slippages that you can't predict I find most interesting, not because I want to make a point about society as being a broken down system or that all life is entropic — I don't, but rather that its process is unforeseeable." - Meaning and context.">
In an interview with Robert C. Morgan, 1991; in the 'Journal of Contemporary Art, 4', no. 2, p. 56-69
“

[something like] a badly constructed or repaired motor, or like that wonderful event of Tinguely's, where he made a huge contraption in the backyard of the Museum of Modern Art called 'Homage to New York'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MqsWqBX4wQ, which was a machine that destroyed itself in various humorous ways. It's that breakdown system along with slippages that you can't predict I find most interesting, not because I want to make a point about society as being a broken down system or that all life is entropic — I don't, but rather that its process is unforeseeable.

— Allan Kaprow

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[something like] a badly constructed or repaired motor, or like that wonderful event of Tinguely's, where he made a huge contraption in the backyard of the Museum of Modern Art called 'Homage to New York'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MqsWqBX4wQ, which was a machine that destroyed itself in various humorous ways. It's that breakdown system along with slippages that you can't predict I find most interesting, not because I want to make a point about society as being a broken down system or that all life is entropic — I don't, but rather that its process is unforeseeable." in the context of "In an interview with Robert C. Morgan, 1991; in the 'Journal of Contemporary Art, 4', no. 2, p. 56-69" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Allan Kaprow" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Allan Kaprow

About Allan Kaprow

Allan Kaprow (23 August 1927 – 5 April 2006) was an American Fluxus artist, assemblagist a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art, and the originator of Happenings.