David M.C. Miller - raj (paradise)

Paradise (Raj), Plasy Monastery, Czech Republic, 1997 Photo: Daniel Šperl
Detail
Granary, showing clock tower.
Clock weights before installation.
Sack of rocks, machine parts, tethered rope (before installation).
Two views of Raj during installation, cast iron, chain.
Raj, from below

The title for this still life (Raj) derives from the name assigned to the clock movement by its legendary 17th century maker.

A weight was made by casting objects directly in iron and by replacing one element of the existing weight ensemble with another; a textile sack filled with rocks and machine parts attached to the weight above by a rope, is replaced with an equal weight in cast iron and chain.

This remarkable constellation of things—original stones, rusted machine parts—was assembled ad hoc by Robert Drozda after more than fifty years of neglect back in 1989 when he repaired the clock and became its keeper. The new weight "improves" the functionality of the ensemble.

The clock design consists of four gravity-driven movements set in motion by four groups of weights dramatically suspended from them. One drives the pendulum. The others ring the time by engaging three differently tuned bells.

Symbolic attributes were given to each in the form of names: the pendulum is named Rok (The Year); Peklo (Hell) announces the hour time in as many rings; Zodiak (Zodiac), the third and lowest sounding bell repeats the hour time. Raj (Paradise), the first and highest pitched bell, is the only bell that rings throughout the day and night, sounding the time each quarter hour. The weights gradually descend and are hand-cranked (wound-up) every two days.

The iron objects: a bar of laundry soap, a can of sardines in oil, in tomato sauce, a metal smith’s hammer, a recorder, a key, assorted small candy, bubble gum, a chocolate bar, a jar of baby food, canned preserves, an apple, garlic cloves, an onion, cucumber, braided bread rolls, potatoes, a lemon, an orange, a bottle of beer, a package of Marlboro’s, table candles--suspended on a cast iron drain cover.