description The Elephant Celebes Overview
The Elephant Celebes is a large-scale mechanical sculpture created by Ernst. Notable for its biomorphic design blending animal form with intricate machinery, it exemplifies surrealist explorations of the relationship between nature and technology. Constructed in the 1930s, this work appeals to viewers interested in conceptual art, zoological subjects, and the unsettling juxtaposition of organic and industrial elements.
help The Elephant Celebes FAQ
Who created the sculpture The Elephant Celebes?
The Elephant Celebes is a surrealist mechanical sculpture created by the artist Max Ernst. It blends a rounded, boiler-like mechanical body with a hose-like appendage resembling an elephant's trunk.
What is the meaning behind The Elephant Celebes?
The sculpture exemplifies the surrealist fascination with the uncanny, blending organic animal forms with industrial machinery. It was heavily inspired by a photograph of a Sudanese corn bin that Ernst saw in an anthropological journal, which he transformed into a monstrous, dreamlike beast.
Where is The Elephant Celebes currently located?
The original piece is permanently housed in the Tate Gallery in London. It remains one of Ernst's most famous and studied three-dimensional works from the Dada and Surrealist movements.
What materials were used to make The Elephant Celebes?
The sculpture was constructed using conventional plaster over a wire and wooden frame. Despite looking heavy and metallic, it is actually quite fragile and relies on its painted finish to mimic the look of polished metal.
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