Suicide Machines

Excerpts from an Exhibition Catalog

Machineries of Death - A Retrospective

We are very pleased to be able to present this retrospective exhibition in one of the most original and controversial fields of 20th century sculpture. From our present standpoint, it is difficult to understand the storms of controversy which surrounded the introduction of the first few functional "machines" in the mid-1990s. Indeed it is now fashionable to claim that this entire school is a natural derivative of various isolated lunatics and "folk artists" such as the self-taught Dr. Jack Kevorkian. We hope this exhibition and catalog will dispel such an ahistorical notion.

Because the machines of this exhibition were constructed and sold over a period of years, this exhibition marks the largest collection of several artists' work ever to be assembled under one roof. It marks a unique opportunity for the connoisseur or the curious layman to gain a rapid appreciation of the diversity of this most American art form.

Suicide Machine #1, 1995. Drill-presses, filmstrip projector, acrylic plastics, electrical and mechanical components, mixed-media. (Blood, tissue, iron bars 1996.)

This was the first of Royston's "Suicide Machine" series to be put on public exhibition. It was also the single artwork which catapulted him into national notoriety.

The machine is constructed such that the viewer must kneel and insert his head into the white plastic channel to look into the eyepieces. Pressing the lever which activates the filmstrip of the copulating couple also actuates the drill-presses, slowly driving eight 1/4 inch drill bits into the viewer's skull. The artist has wired the components in such a way that the projector can not be turned on independently of the drill- presses. Its efficiency was gruesomely demonstrated when a depressed psychiatrist, Thomas Grund, broke into the original exhibition at night and accessed the machine before guards could respond.

Royston has claimed that this creation, like his other "Suicide Machines", is intended as a critique of society's fascination with sex and violence. He argues that it is not morbid in itself. However, many have noted that his legal settlement with the estate of Thomas Grund included a stipulation that the machine be returned from police custody uncleaned. It is hard to imagine a more morbid act. Royston now claims that his 1996 reconstruction of the machine, spattered with human blood and isolated within an iron cage, more purely reflects his original ideal -- to portray society's obsession with sex and death.

Suicide Machine #2 (The Siren), 1995. Electronic amplifier and tone generators, speakers, motion detector, electric rotary saw, electrical and mechanical components, manacles, wood, metal tubing.

In this construction, the machine attempts to "lure" listeners through a succession of haunting electronic tones. The user must kneel and lean into the machine to clearly hear the music. When the motion detector senses the listener's presence, it starts the saw and gradually reduces the volume of the music. The volume control can only be reached by placing both hands through the manacles. Increasing the music volume past a random, predetermined threshold will cause the saw to be suddenly released in an arc passing through the listener's neck. This machine is not known to have caused any fatalities.

Suicide Machine #2 is in private hands, and could not be obtained for this exhibition. It is represented here by two life-sized photographs

Suicide Machine #3 (Illucid), 1996. Armchair, seatbelts, old-fashioned hair dryer, face mask, baby bottle, electrical and mechanical components, electronic components, computer, chemical vials, mixed-media.

This is one of the more elaborate constructions of Royston's early period. The name or subtitle appears to be a pun on "Delysid", or "LSD". The user sits in the chair and must close the seatbelts securely before proceeding -- an ironic statement on society's "safety consciousness"? The computer then lowers the hair dryer cylinder completely over the user's head. The interior contains pulsating lights, and the face mask containing the nipple of the baby bottle. If ignored, the cylinder will retract after 90 seconds. If the user begins to suck on the nipple, it dispenses a measured dose of a fast-acting drug, allegedly a DMT derivative. After a period of time set by the computer, it suddenly sprays hydrogen cyanide through the face mask. No known fatalities.

NOTE: this artwork was refused entry to the United States for this exhibition, by agents of the U.S. Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency. It is represented in this exhibition by three life-sized photographs, one showing its present owner "trying it on."

Suicide Machine #4 (International Relations), 1996. Armchair, electronic blood-pressure cuff, electrical components, ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosive.

This is considered by some critics to be the peak of Royston's early period. We are proud to present this outstanding work, by special arrangement with the FBI and the BATF.

The machine is sublimely simple and elegant. The user sits in the chair and puts on the blood pressure cuff. When a valid blood pressure reading is obtained, the button on the arm of the chair glows green. The device is then armed. Pressing the button will detonate the 50 kg. explosive charges in the seat and back of the chair. No fatalities to date.

NOTE: DO NOT CROSS THE RED SECURITY BARRIERS BETWEEN THE VISITOR AREA AND THIS EXHIBIT. GUARDS ARE AUTHORIZED TO USE DEADLY FORCE.

Suicide Machine #5, 1996. (Similar construction to #4?)

Mr. Royston has graciously loaned us his few remaining Polaroids of Machine #5, which was purchased by a Chicago area bank as part of its arts patronage program. Less than a year later, the bank president triggered it, apparently despondent over his indictment on insider trading charges. All identifiable fragments of the artwork were apparently disposed of following the forensic investigation.

Suicide Machine #6 (Pele), 1996. Fire-brick, exercise gym, metal tubing, generator and batteries, notebook computers, computer monitors, aluminum powder, iron oxide, magnesium wire, mixed-media.

With this construction, the artist returned to his original "siren lure" theme. The user of the artwork may once again be accurately described as a viewer; alternatively, in this case the viewer may be described as a "user" in the computer sense.

The viewer must enter the piece by crawling into it through a narrow passage, and lying face-down on a bench inside the conical firebrick structure. Pulling on the handles and thrusting ones feet against the stirrups (as if diving) actuates the computers, which begin to display streams of varying text and graphic images on screens arranged around the user's face. At a time randomly determined by the computer, the device arms itself. Any further motion at this time ignites the "thermite" charges above, below, and around the user. Predicted temperatures inside the chamber exceed 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The lizard-like forms painted in acrylic around the inside and outside of the firebrick cone may be an allusion to the gecko or "mo'o" lizard of Hawaiian folklore. However, the artist has hinted at other interpretations for them, and has been quoted as calling this particular construction an "in joke". In the passive, suspended form of the sculpture's user, we can see a foreshadowing of the later "sex-death" development of the Suicide Machine series.

Suicide Machine #6 was loaned to this exhibition courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

-- Pope C

Back to my writing section (morbid stuff)

Back to my home page/intro