(PHOTOGRAPHY). (MAN RAY). MARTANO, Giuliano. Man Ray: Clin d'oeil.

"What is Insanity?"

(PHOTOGRAPHY). (MAN RAY). MARTANO, Giuliano. Man Ray: Clin d'oeil. (Torino: Galleria Il Fauno [and] Galleria Martano, 1971) [15] leaves. (244 x 198 mm.) First and Only Edition. Original stiff black paper boards, upper cover with printed label. With six tipped-on plates, and one tipped-on reproduction of the invitation for the "Exposition Retrospective Dada" held in 1957.  Light wear to edges, a couple small scuffs to boards, contents pristine.

A handsome catalogue published in connection with the production of a notorious piece of ready-made art, involving a visionary artist and a complex history of creation and destruction.

Originally executed in 1923 and titled "Object to be Destroyed," Man Ray's classic Dadaist sculpture consisted of a metronome with the image of an eye cut from a photograph and clipped to the arm. According to the artist, he intended it as a kind of silent audience member in the art studio, regulating his brushstrokes as he painted. Over time and with each new version, however, the sculpture would take on new contexts and meanings. In 1932, following the dissolution of his romance with Lee Miller, Man Ray replaced the original eye with an image of Miller's eye and renamed it "Object of Destruction." (This version was lost during WWII and replaced with a replica titled "Lost Object" in 1945.) The piece was literally destroyed in 1957 by a group of student protesters, prompting Man Ray to remake the piece yet again--this time in an edition of 100--which he dubbed "Indestructible Object." Finally, in 1970, Man Ray authorized Luciano Anselmino of Galleria il Fauno to produce 40 metronomes with a slight alteration from earlier examples: each was outfitted with a lenticular image of an eye that appeared to "wink" with every stroke of the arm. This final iteration was titled "Perpetual Motif."

The images selected for the present work include a self-portrait by Man Ray, a photograph of Man Ray with Marcel Duchamp by Naomi Savage, and images of the various metronomes executed between 1923-1970. Although the commentary is in Italian and the excerpts from interviews with the artist are in French, it ends with a quote by Man Ray in English: "What is insanity? It is a clock or a metronome that forgets to run down, or to stop." (1033)