"Venus Smiles" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

. Originally titled "Mobile", it appeared in the June 1957 edition of ''

Science Fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

'' (Volume 8, Number 23). It was then rewritten and appeared in the ''

Vermilion Sands ''Vermilion Sands'' is a collection of science fiction short stories by British writer J. G. Ballard, first published in 1971. All the stories are set in an imaginary vacation resort called Vermilion Sands which suggests, among other places, Palm ...

'' (1971) collection under its new name and later '' The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard'' (2006). Like the rest of the ''Vermilion Sands'' collection, this story takes place in the fictional desert town of Vermilion Sands, and also features exotic technology.

Plot

"Venus Smiles" concerns the events surrounding a musical

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

commissioned to be placed in the centre of Vermilion Sands. On the day of the unveiling, the statue causes outrage with the public — as well as being aesthetically unpleasing, the music emitted from the sculpture tends to lean towards middle-eastern style

quarter tones A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, a ...

and is unpleasing to the ear. Instead of being scrapped, Mr Hamilton, one of the board members who commissioned it, decides to follow the wishes of the woman who sculpted it, and take it back to his home that he shares with his

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

. At first the narrator, Hamilton, finds the statue looks quite pleasant in his garden, and likes the new melodic

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

it starts to produce. One day, Hamilton and his secretary discover the statue is gently vibrating and moving, and the metal seems to be twisting and turning. As days continue to pass, they find the statue growing increasingly in height and girth, to an extent that is now twice its original size, and the twisting and forming of the new metal is developing at noticeable speed. After the statue has taken over the garden, the main characters and others begin to strip the metal off, which proves difficult as the rate at which the metal grows is the same as they can dismantle it. Eventually, the sculpture is completely demolished and the metal sold to a scrap yard. A legal battle then ensues, when the woman who originally sculpted the statue sues the board for damaging her reputation by openly and ungainly destroying one of her works. When the ruling is finally made in her favour, ten months have passed. When the lead characters have left the court building they remark on the fact that it is new and yet to be completed — unplastered walls are visible and metal beams protrude from the building. The story ends when the narrator and supporting characters discover the unusual vibrations coming from the beams, and realise with horror that the statue's old metal has been recycled and distributed around Vermilion Sands in new buildings and motor vehicles. Mr Hamilton remarks to his secretary, "Carol, it's only just the beginning. The whole world will be singing."

References

External links

* Short stories by J. G. Ballard 1971 short stories Works originally published in Science Fantasy (magazine) {{1970s-sf-story-stub