Panamarenko

His artist's pseudonym is inspired both by the iconic American airline Pan American World Airways, known as PanAm, and by a general of the Red Army of the Soviet Union named Panteleimon Ponomarenko (1902–1984). Panamarenko was passionate about technique and developed an original oeuvre made up of collages using scientific journals, and a bricolage of “poetic objects”: flying machines, airplanes, dirigibles, continuous track tanks, automobiles, and even submarines. His large-scale inventions and engines, which were either constructed or remained as maquettes or prototypes, were conceived with a scientific attention to detail and a sophistication bred of an in-depth study of insect flight, sources of energy, aeronautics, and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci. Among his admirers were compatriots Marcel Broodthaers and Joseph Beuys, and his universe of wonder and fantasy was revealed in several exhibitions, including  documenta V in Kassel, West Germany (1972).

In 1998, the Fondation Cartier organised La Grande Exposition des Soucoupes Volantes which featured an ensemble of pieces curated by Panamarenko, centred around his iconic dirigible with its wicker cabin, and the Aeromodeller, created from 1969 to 1971, as well as around thirty drawings and sketches.