art practice created on June 13, 2007 most recent update June 14, 2024
2005
9.75" x 12" x 9.5"
wind-up clock, wire, hemlock cone, thread, wood, bowl, water, time-lapse video
Click to enlarge
A small Hemlock cone is attached with a wire to the hour hand of a wind-up mechanical clock (glass lens removed) and extends outside of the clock face to traverse a 12-hour circle. The cone closes as it dips into a bowl of water, which is set below the clock, and it opens as it dries during its trip around the upper arc of the circle.
The movement of the cone around the clock is too slow to observe at any one time, but we know what is happening because of our familiarity with clocks and time. And sure enough, we can see the changing position of the cone if we check back periodically. We can also predict the fate of the cone as it heads towards the water.
The expansion and contraction of the cone is also too slow to be observed at any one time. We either already know what will happen - that the cone will close when it gets wet and open as it dries out, or we watch the cone over a period of time to observe the change.
The use of time-lapse video becomes a perfect way to provide surprising evidence of that which we know is happening, through deduction, but which we can't easily see in real time.
We see cones in our environment almost daily. Many are quite large, but seldom do we notice them, and we hardly ever observe the changes they go through - constantly opening and closing depending on the weather and humidity. This piece is a reminder of the state of constant change that surrounds us.
The Hemlock cone was selected because it will dry and open within the 12 hour cycle without the need for heaters or fans. A clock was used to drive the apparatus because it also functions to measure time. A wind-up clock was used, so we don't forget. The rate at which the cone will open is determined by the ambient humidity in the gallery and will change slightly with changes in weather or with changes in the heating or cooling of the gallery.
When on exhibit the clock must be wound periodically (every two days or so) and the time is to be set to the current local time. The bowl must also be topped up with water periodically to compensate for evaporation. The bowl should always be almost full. A pedestal is required to exhibit the clock.
There is a story (or two) about this work that I now (in February 2023) feel compelled to tell. When delivered to a gallery to be exhibited, I went to great lengths to explain how the work needed to be cared for during the exhibition. The following were my instructions:
Cone Clock - Exhibition instructions
Cone clock is a wind-up clock with a small hemlock cone attached to the hour hand that dips into a bowl of water as it goes round and round. The cone closes when it gets wet and opens when it dries. The clock needs to be wound every day or two and the bowl of water needs to be topped up as the water evaporates. If the clock stops, the current time should be re-set on the clock.
Wind clock every couple of days. Please try to not over wind.
Water level needs to be fairly close to top.
Take care to not bend wire holding cone or to damage cone.
Unfortunately, my instructions were ignored by gallery staff and the clock stopped and the water dried out, for the entire duration of the exhibition. I was very upset over this and as a result made the cone oscillator, a machine that could maintain itself and did not need the attention of a gallery attendant, and the cone oscillator ended up becoming a very important work for me, so in the end, not such a bad result. Hahaha!
(The other story is of the gallery curator who refused to exhibit this work because he felt the piece of wood that the clock rested on was not well-enough considered.)
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