Random Thoughts

[Rev. Rye]

Idea for someone who's A) artistially inclined, B) has gone through a breakup, and C) has an arm good enough to destroy a mechanical object with one blow. In 1923, Man Ray created an work of art that consists of a metronome with an eye on the pendulum called Object to be Destroyed.

The original was eventually destroyed with a bullet in 1957 and remade somewhere in the area of 240 times in the years between then and Ray's death. However, Ray actually created detailed instructions for how to properly destroy it:

Cut out the eye from a photograph of one who has been loved but is seen no more. Attach the eye to the pendulum of a metronome and regulate the weight to suit the tempo desired. Keep going to the limit of endurance. With a hammer well-aimed, try to destroy the whole at a single blow.

I have never found any sign of anyone following the official instructions. I don't advocate destroying one of the official copies, naturally. Especially since creating a replica is easy as just getting a mechanical metronome and attaching a photo of an ex's eye to it. But I'd be curious to see someone doing their own version of the destruction Ray specified. Since I don't see my dakimakura Alison breaking up with me, I don't plan to do so, but here's one twist I'd add: Since Ray did not specify the desired tempo, I'd put it at 72 BPM, the same tempo as this piece:



And once the soprano and the winds start wailing (about 8 minutes in), that's when you lay the hammer down.