On ships you see new things every day which is not only inspiring but it also provides a wealth of material. On land, because you see the same place day in and day out, none of it pops out at you as particularly thought provoking or noteworthy.
Well, I stumbled upon something noteworthy, namely what I like to call Nothing. I have actually gone out of my way to see Nothing multiple times. I have dragged other people to see Nothing, cause it is such a kick. I have made sure people had some nothing to take home with them. I happen to really like Nothing.
So what is Nothing? Nothing is “The Nothing Machine.” It is a Rube Goldberg type machine which literally does “nothing” over and over and over again.
(If you are not familiar with Rube Goldberg, then you have missed a charming little idiosyncrasy of American culture. Rube Goldberg was briefly an engineer and a life long cartoonist. The cartoons that gained him lasting fame depicted overly engineered and generally convoluted machines which did the simplest or most mundane of tasks in a ridiculously complicated way.)
The Nothing Machine, approximately six feet tall, three feet wide and two feet deep, sculpted by Rodney Aguiar, utilizes an old typewriter in the center of mechanized classic motorcycle parts including several gears, chains, springs and pistons, to type “nothing” repeatedly. Hence, it is The Nothing Machine which literally does “nothing” over and over again. The curators are quick to tear off some paper with “nothing” on it so patrons can take a little bit of Nothing home with them.
(Sorry, the video quality isn't great.)
I have always liked Rube Goldberg machines, but this one with the added word-play dimension, very much entertained me.
I hope it entertained you as well.
Cool: The Nothing Machine.
