Time Machine (1999)Steel, computer, electronics, antique clock mechanism; 84x84x4"; 75lbs. status: available
Time Machine is a simple conceptual sculpture in which a time-lapse film of a rose bud blooming and dying is stepped through by the movement of the pendulum of an old mechanical clock. If the pendulum stops, the image disappears. When the pendulum restarts, the series starts over again. The owner must wind the piece each day in order to keep the system running.
In its current incarnation, the time-lapse element is composed of about 1200 still images shot over the two week life cycle of a rose bud. In the future, I hope to expand this film to near-real time, so that if there are one million clock ticks in the life of a rose bud, I will have a one-million-image sequence. This piece is one of the few works I have produced in the past several years which actually has a PC inside it. There's lots of junk in there, and being one for elegance and simplicity it frankly pained me to build it. Someday I hope to learn how to construct such a system without the massive technological overhead of the modern PC.
Time Machine is simple to ship and install. It is about eight feet high and occupies about eight linear feet of wall.
This sculpture is accompanied by a project document, a drawing which incorporates concept notes, sketches, schematics, code listings and other materials. For more details, visit that piece's page.
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