Indestructible Object

Man Ray, Indestructible Object, 1965, wood, fiber, metal, and paper on cardboard, 8 ¹⁄₂ x 4 ¹⁄₂ x 4 ¹⁄₂ in. (21.6 x 11.5 x 11.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Samuel M. Greenbaum and Helen Mark families in memory of Helen Mark Greenbaum, 1993.43

Artwork Details

Title: Indestructible Object
Artist: Man Ray
Date: 1965
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 8 ¹⁄₂ x 4 ¹⁄₂ x 4 ¹⁄₂ in. (21.6 x 11.5 x 11.5 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Samuel M. Greenbaum and Helen Mark families in memory of Helen Mark Greenbaum
Mediums: metal
wood
fabric
Mediums Description: wood, fiber, metal, and paper on cardboard
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Figure — fragment — eye
Performing arts — music
Object Number: 1993.43
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1993.43

Artwork Description

In 1922, Man Ray created a piece titled Object to be Destroyed from a metronome and a photograph of an eye. In a 1956 Paris exhibition the piece was destroyed by angry viewers who considered the work meaningless. The artist immediately created a duplicate, which he named Indestructible Object, to show that the idea behind the work could never be erased. Further replicas have been known as Lost Object, Last Object (due to a printer’s error), and Motif Perpétuel. The piece was reproduced so many times that it developed a life of its own, demeaning the value of “original” art and craftsmanship in the true spirit of Dada. The one-eyed metronome even appeared on a political poster in Hamburg with the slogan “Choose the right beat,” an ironic use of the image that Man Ray would have approved.