Dadaism was the main artistic movement that influenced Jean Tinguely. Dadaism an anarchic art movement, looked to do away with the cultural and political ideas influenced by bourgeoisie society. Dadaist works were concerned with the understanding of beauty. Artists apart of Dadaism often challenged what was aesthetically pleasing to audiences by picking up irrational techniques and nonsensical styles. Performances were designed to confuse and stir-up audiences, making them question the aesthetic values they had inherited from society.
One can tell that this movement due to the choice of his materials influenced Tinguely. He often used discarded scrap or found objects to build his sculptures. These items would not usually be looked at as beautiful in a normal piece of art, and acted as another part of the Dadaist objective to challenge accepted aesthetic values. The use of such materials also acted as a commentary on the place of material objects and household items within society.
Tinguely’s choice of scrap materials for his sculptures, recycled metals, helps him in also destroying his own works. By using bicycle wheels, vehicle parts and industrial offal, his sculptures gave an untraditional beauty to objects that would have otherwise been disregarded for the purposes of art.