Consisting of hundreds of Hollywood film clips depicting time in real-time as it plays, Christian Marclay’s The Clock was quite revolutionary at its release. The 24-hour montage of film and TV clips featuring clocks and watches was designed to be functional, in that it actually told the time. As a result, visitors were led through a long and enduring history of cinema.
The Clock was an instant hit from the very first day that it was exhibited at the White Cube gallery located in London back in 2010. According to instructions given by Marclay himself, The Clock can be shown by any gallery in the world, just as long as overnight screenings are held. The Clock is a deeply relevant work that can allow the audience to dig deeper in search of hidden meanings and overnight screenings provide individuals with the chance to spend more time exploring the piece.
Marclay was inspired to begin working on The Clock while working on his 2005 installation known as Screen Play. The 24-hour film, The Clock, was a moving collage that was created from excerpts of hundreds if not thousands of movie clips that featured various timepieces. Footage for the installation was acquired from an assistant that worked at a technology center nearby. The timepieces included were varied to consist of pocket watches, and clocktowers, all of which had been synchronized to tell the actual time. The entire composition of clips highlighted Marclay’s editing skills in incredible ways. The film was edited over a period of three years.
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