Dreams of Desire 12 (The Lovers)

Observatory Time-The Lovers 1936-Man Ray

One of the most famous Surrealist images are of Lee Miller’s lips hovering in the sky and dominating the landscape, painted by her former lover Man Ray. After the ending of their affair and professional partnership Man Ray would use isolated parts of Lee Miller in many different works; most notable in its bitterness is the Indestructible Object (Or Object to be Destroyed) which features a cut-out from a photograph of Miller’s eye attached to a pendulum of a metronome. The work has the following instructions; ‘Cut out the eye from the 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.’ However they were soon back on good terms and would remain friends until Man Ray’s death in 1976. Miller would die a year later.