The Clock

Scenes from Christian Marclay's 24-hour video installation, "The Clock." (Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery)

At a recent screening of collaged animations, one of the filmmakers (in the Q&A that followed) remarked that she felt that everything has already been made, and it only needed to be reedited to create a new narrative. Her comment resonated with me this past weekend when I ventured out to Lincoln Center to see Christian Marclay’s The Clock. It was the final weekend viewing of the film. As expected, the lines were long. I waited over two hours outside and entered the screening room around 12:30 a.m. While waiting in line, I had a clear view of the illuminated CNN rooftop sign in Columbus Circle. Under the CNN logo, the current time, which I unconsciously kept glancing at, and temperature, a very muggy 81 degrees at midnight, were displayed.  While it was admittedly a tedious wait, I enjoyed observing my line mates, some reading, some amusingly networking with the strangers around them, and some sitting on the pavement, standing up when the line moved forward perhaps a foot and sitting down again and repeating this action in small spurts over and over for the entire two hours. Only a few gave up. 

Once inside, I stayed for about two hours. I was enthralled by the micro abstract narratives that wove throughout the film. There has been plenty of criticism about the film being “too clever” or “gimmicky” but I disagree. I don’t think that something being clever is a negative. The clean editing and syncing with current time is fantastic. As a viewer feeling exhausted at 2 a.m., I watched the characters restlessly toss and turn in their beds, repeatedly looking at the time and remarking how most normal people are asleep. Unlike David Edelstein, I enjoyed getting sucked into one short narrative only to be thrown into another. As an artist living in a place and time that encourages punching out work at a fast pace, I was inspired to read about the hours and years and of course time that went into creating The Clock.  If I wasn’t already exhausted from a few long days prior, I would have stayed longer.