PUBLIC CLOCK
© 1991
18 1/2 ft. x 6 ft. x 6 ft.
Currently in the collection of the Artist
The Public Clock is a weight driven pendulum clock with a double three-legged gravity escapement. The weights are lifted by an electric motor every few minutes. This escapement mechanism is similar to that used in "Big Ben." The famous Westminster Clock in London.
Note: Public Clock was created as a multiple of two very similar pieces. One clock was purchased, via the Exploratorium, in 1999, by the Museo Sol Del Nino AC in Mexicali Mexico.
The Public Clock illustrated here is in the collection of the Artist and is currently available for sale or exhibition.
REVIEWS
Public Clock ... substitutes a wire basket full of marbles for the lead weight.The gradual lowering of the basket [of marbles] powers not only a large pendulum, but also the knifelike metal hands on a clock face at the top of this structure that resemble an outdoor windmill. An electrically powered rewind device automatically raises the basket of marbles when it reaches the bottom of its path.
Tom Patterson, The Winston-Salem Journal. Jan. 19, 1992
While the quality of playfulness is without a doubt present, it no way sabotages the sophistication of this body of work. A fluent knowledge of physics is essential to work such as “Public Clock,” a tall gravity-powered clock made from bicycle parts and oddly-matched weights…. Margaret Shearin, Triad Style, Nov. 13, 1991
The Public Clock has been exhibited at:
1991 Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC.
1991 The Isreal National Museum of Science, Heifa
1992 City Gallery of Contemporary Art, Raleigh, NC.
1993 Technorama Museum, Winterthur, Switzerland.
1994 Art Machines, The Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA.
1996 Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ.
1996 Inventure Place, Akron, OH.
1999 Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.
Public Clock was created as a multiple of two very similar pieces. One clock was purchased in 1999, by the Museo Sol Del Nino AC in Mexicali, Mexico.
The Public Clock illustrated here is in the collection of the Artist and is currently available for sale or exhibition.