Really neat item. Though the single play thing, while interesting conceptually, ruins it for me. Imagine trying to show someone the item, and telling them you canât show them how it works for fear of not being able to rewind the music box.
Seriously now, any kind of toy that looks like a weapon is just begging for a lawsuit when some paranoid police officer shoots down the gift recipient. Only an idiot would ever buy or give such an item in the US as currently managed. Hopefully itâs concept art that will only ever appear in a gallery, not some kind of maker product.
Well, thereâs a link to the artistâs site. Do you see a sales page?
Edit: Looks like you can still buy these easily enough, which is a good thing. Thereâs all kinds of things that can get you shot if you wave them aggressively at a cop. The solution is donât do that.
My first thought was âwhy canât you rewind the box by depressing the lever?â
Looking at the making-of pics it becomes more clear why: it uses a pre-fabricated music box, and with the bulk of it thereâs little room for the gears youâd need.
But Iâm curious about that one exposed screw - it seems to be in the general area a winding mechanism would live, and I canât think of any other need for it to be there.
I explained the cross section view of grenade here
And just remember, some grenades have a contact fuse, not time delay!
Man, DRM has really gotten out of control.
A classier version of rednecks buying swords, knives, and other weapons that they never intend to use for their designed purpose as killing implements. Or cigarettes encased in novelty âemergency break glassâ. Buying the feeling of power that comes from thinking they could be deployed whenever the impulse arises, and simultaneously disowning the possibility of actually deploying.
The appropriate tune for that is âInstant Karmaâ
Has anybody ever broken open and smoke one of the âin case of emergencyâ cigarettes?
Instant if you donât count the prep time to get all liquored up.
No, youâre thinking of ordinary dummy grenades like this one. This music-box dealie is a moderately witty art object, not a toy for weapon aficionados.
And you know, for that matter, I know plenty of lovely people who own and display wall-hanger swords and knives and whatnot. Humans are descended from violent apes, and weâre fascinated by the tools of violence even if weâre not interested in actually using them. Thereâs nothing wrong with that, so you can keep your smug superiority.
Oh good lord. Really? Are you really worried about this bullshit, or concern trolling?
Itâs a novelty. Millions of people own fake/prop/replica weapons and somehow have managed to not incite a riot or have a SWAT team called over.
Millions more have, you know, like real weapons and they too are doing just fine. Donât worry, six fingered men are perfectly safe from my wall mounted rapier.
They should make a version that plays âPop goes the Weaselâ, only have it not play the last line (Pop goes the weasel!) Some sort of commentary on people waiting for things that never come.
The fact that you canât rewind the music box puts it squarely in the âconcept artâ category for me, doubly so with it playing America the Beautiful.
Iâve never seen the point of âartâ thatâs entire schtick is making a non-violent object appear to be a weapon.
Does the appearance of a weapon add to the objectâs aesthetic value? No, because weapons arenât designed for their aesthetics.
Does the appearance of a weapon add to the objectâs artistic value? No, not in and of itself.
A sculpture of a gun with the barrel tied into a knot conveys a distinct and obvious message via subversion of the weapon aesthetic. A music box that is externally indistinguishable from a grenade without any such aesthetic subversion does not.
One might argue that the point of the object is the contradiction of the form and function of the device, but merely being contrary is hardly artistry and is essentially arbitrary. (Which I suppose might work if youâre a Dadaist, but then why settle for something so mundane?)
Ultimately this is just someoneâs half baked concept made manifest. Itâs sheer dark whimsy, an errant grim thought given physical form. It is neither beautiful nor edifying nor challenging on any level - it merely is a trinket, a knick-knack, a mild curiosity at best and an alarming confusion at worst.
I can see not being interested in it, but Iâm not sure why it bothers you quite so much.
Youâre not bothered by the thought of someone dressing the beauty and purity of music in the trappings of the tools of murder and strife?
Itâs like making a baby crib out of exhumed human bones.
I think itâs weird to assume that any intersection of music and weapons automatically drags down music. You could just as well say that it highlights the horror of war by comparing it to the beauty of musicâjuxtaposing and contrasting mankindâs worst creation with one of our best.
Edit: I think youâre interpreting the authorâs intent as âhaha, wouldnât it be wacky if I put a music box in a grenade?â And maybe youâre right! He doesnât say. Iâm inclined to see something a bit deeper than that in this particular piece, though.
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