This kinetic object is a response to Arthur Ganson's "Cory's Yellow Chair" and "Machine with Chair" by appropriating an assigned object, which in this case is a piano hammer. The product is a self-destructive machine which wears away with its continuous use, emphasizing on the idea of absurdity and attempting to find an aesthetic value in non-sensicality.

 

Having the word composition in the title also alludes to the idea of a classical music arrangement. This adds an aural and musical layer to the identity of the object; activating the object is thus equivalent to performing a sort of musical arrangement.

Eventually the machine will be non-functional, and all that remains from it will be the structure and the wood dust produced by the sanding of the hammer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to making the kinetic object, we have to create an accurate replica which is double the size of our assigned object. Given wood as the limitation of the assignment, I use different kind of wood to suggest different materiality of the piano hammer. For an example, I used balsa to replicate the softer parts of the hammer, and walnut for the metallic parts.

 

 

 

Here are the preliminary sketches for the piano hammer

 

 

 

 

Here are the preliminary sketches for the machine