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Lot Essay
This work has been authenticated by Mme Jacqueline Matisse Monnier and the Association Marcel Duchamp.
In 1920, Marcel Duchamp built a large motorized optical device called Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics), which consisted of five separate rectangular glass plates. In order to capture and preserve the optical sensation produced by the spinning plates, Duchamp enlisted Man Ray, who was nearly killed when one of the glass plates shattered and almost decapitated him. They tried to make a 3-D film of the machine in action, by mounting two cameras next to one another. Unfortunately, the film was destroyed in the developing process, but a few frames survived, which Man Ray printed and Duchamp mounted next to one another on a card.
In 1920, Marcel Duchamp built a large motorized optical device called Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics), which consisted of five separate rectangular glass plates. In order to capture and preserve the optical sensation produced by the spinning plates, Duchamp enlisted Man Ray, who was nearly killed when one of the glass plates shattered and almost decapitated him. They tried to make a 3-D film of the machine in action, by mounting two cameras next to one another. Unfortunately, the film was destroyed in the developing process, but a few frames survived, which Man Ray printed and Duchamp mounted next to one another on a card.