Under the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo Lauwarm
- Artist: Martin Kippenberger
- Date: 1990
- Medium: Wood, steel, polystyrene and 48 framed colour photographs
- Dimensions: object: 1150 × 1360 × 1130 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "Under the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo Lauwarm", a playful assemblage by Martin Kippenberger from 1990. Kippenberger had a hand‑made wooden tablecloth carved by Tyrolean woodcrafters, then laid it out like a tablecloth on metal legs. Over the cloth he piled six glass clip‑frames, each holding a photo of a model of spaghetti he photographed near Tokyo Tower. The model reflects Japan’s shokuhin sampuru tradition, where restaurants display realistic food replicas to entice diners. By combining a European craft with a Japanese culinary custom, Kippenberger toys with the idea of originality and the artist’s hand. The piece is part of his massive “Happy End of Franz Kafka’s ‘Amerika’” installation, which imagines a grand job‑interview hall with tables and chairs for invisible interviewers. Here, the table becomes a dialogue between cultures, crafts, and the very notion of who creates art. Kippenberger’s humor and critique shine through this quirky, layered construction.
See it in person
Under the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo Lauwarm is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
