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Hand Written Clock

Posted by samzenpus on from the up-to-the-minute dept.

a3buster writes "This clock does not actually have a man inside, but a flatscreen that plays a 24-hour loop of this video by the artist watching his own clock somewhere and painstakingly erasing and re-writing each minute. This video was taken at Design Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach 2009."

65 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. 24 hours? by MattSausage · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Also, I would imagine he only painstakingly did this for 12 hours, no need for 24

    1. Re:24 hours? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Unless he DID do it for 24 hours, as in, what you see at 1 O'clock (and 1:01, and 1:02... etc) has 2 different possibilities or occurances.

    2. Re:24 hours? by MattSausage · · Score: 1

      Should that be the case: Then THAT, my friend, is ART!

    3. Re:24 hours? by neiko · · Score: 1

      Of course...there's no question that he COULD have done it for 24. I could reply to your post saying that he might have done it for 34 hours, but it's still not worth posting.

    4. Re:24 hours? by donkey55b · · Score: 1

      1 hour... he only needed to do it for 1 hour. Think it through. I don't think I need to explain how. In fact, I'm pretty sure he only did one hour.

    5. Re:24 hours? by MattSausage · · Score: 1

      But wait.. what if he did do it for 34 hours by manipulating the clock he was watching and copying to move at 70.5% normal speed, then sped his video up to complete in exactly 24 hours? Holy smokes! I am an ARTISTE! (Mainly because I took his idea, your idea, and put them together, so now I can claim it was all my idea). ART!!!

    6. Re:24 hours? by bar-agent · · Score: 2, Informative

      1 hour... he only needed to do it for 1 hour.

      No. You notice how he cleaned up around the minute hand? Specifically, how he cleaned the juncture between the minute hand and hour hand? If the hour hand were in a different position, he wouldn't have been able to do that and keep the illusion.

      --
      i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]
    7. Re:24 hours? by Jojoba86 · · Score: 1

      I think you mean 1 hour and 5 minutes. But then he'd be upside-down at 6:00!

    8. Re:24 hours? by iamhassi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Think it through. I don't think I need to explain how."

      Actually I think you need to think it through and an explanation on how he could do all 12 hours by just doing 1 hour is necessary.

      My question is when does the next minute begin? When he finishes cleaning everything off or when he begins wiping it off? I'd probably buy this if they offered it as a computer program and set it up on a tablet inside a box.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    9. Re:24 hours? by orlanz · · Score: 1

      12 hours, 24 hours - talk about having too much time on your hand.

  2. I like... by msauve · · Score: 3, Interesting

    this one better.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    1. Re:I like... by JWSmythe · · Score: 1

          Ya, I like this one a lot better too. It would have been fun to see with a microtime counter on it. :)

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    2. Re:I like... by Kesch · · Score: 3, Insightful

      While the Industrious Clock is probably a better "hand-drawn" timekeeper, I'd say the real draw of this is not just the clock face, but the entire mounting in a man sized box with the clock sunken. It then truly looks like you have kidnapped someone, shoved them into a box, and forced them to keep time with whiteboard markers. I'd like to see a pocket watch version with a tiny demon inside.

      --
      If this signature is witty enough, maybe somebody will like me.
  3. I want one of these by oldspewey · · Score: 1

    I have the perfect spot already picked out.

    --
    If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
    1. Re:I want one of these by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      ...The bathroom, for the most creepy effect.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    2. Re:I want one of these by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      I'm going to put 1 of them over my bed.

      ...and never have sex again!

      Oh wait, this is Slashdot. Never mind.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  4. Hey by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    That's only a 1 minute 27 second segment... where's the link to the full 24-hour video? (And wouldn't looping it every 12 hours be just as effective?)

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Hey by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      He's not an engineer. He's an artist. Effectiveness is the least determinant. Evocativeness is the primary.

    2. Re:Hey by jfengel · · Score: 1

      1:27 is all you need. He draws a minute hand. He waits a minute. He erases it, then draws another one.

      It's tedious enough as it is. I can't imagine anybody watching more than two minutes, much less the full twelve hours.

      The full video would be useful only for the actual clock installation, which is more novelty act than clock. And for what it's worth, it's his. You want yours, make your own.

  5. I could do it in half the time by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it make more sense just to do it for TWELVE hours and maybe loop it 2x per day?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:I could do it in half the time by JWSmythe · · Score: 1

      Without seeing the whole thing, you don't know what he did. For all we know, he only did 60 minutes, and 12 hours (60 one minute videos, and 12 more for the movement of the hour hand). It would seem insane to do every single one of the 720 one minute videos.

          I rewatched it, and there's a break at about 53 seconds, where the camera is off to the side, so you can't see if there's a cut between shots.

          If I were doing it, I'd have done the 72 video method, and even have some extras, like where he was cleaning the clock face to fill time randomly. :) Most people have a very short attention span, so even if you had a dozen filler movies, they wouldn't see all of them. They'll watch for maybe 1-2 minutes, but very few people will stare at it for 15 minutes looking for duplicated clips. :)

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    2. Re:I could do it in half the time by 2names · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't it make even more sense to just buy a damn clock?

      --
      "I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
    3. Re:I could do it in half the time by Svartalf · · Score: 1

      It would...but then it wouldn't be art...

      --
      I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
    4. Re:I could do it in half the time by bobsledbob · · Score: 1

      Thus, why it's called art.

      --
      Beware of geeks bearing formulas.
    5. Re:I could do it in half the time by JWSmythe · · Score: 1

          I know. He probably liked the art of every single movement being different. :) I'd like to see it, so I could analyze how he did it, and see if he took any shortcuts. If I did it, I definitely would have cheated it a bit. :)

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    6. Re:I could do it in half the time by iamhassi · · Score: 1

      "I rewatched it, and there's a break at about 53 seconds, where the camera is off to the side, so you can't see if there's a cut between shots...If I were doing it, I'd have done the 72 video method, and even have some extras, like where he was cleaning the clock face to fill time randomly."

      Agreed. Someone could probably do the entire video in a hour or two, then edit it all together, along with the cleaning fillers. All you have to do is draw the minute, then loop him cleaning back and forth for the remainder of the minute, then draw another minute, loop again, etc. But he'd still need to draw 720 times, and honestly it would probably be easier to record him cleaning for 30 seconds then create 720 loops lasting ~30 seconds.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    7. Re:I could do it in half the time by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      And at 12:23 pm, he eats a sandwich.

    8. Re:I could do it in half the time by mafian911 · · Score: 1

      Looks nice? Art doesn't have to be aesthetically pleasing to be called art. Art is creativity. Art is about making you think. This is not only a very creative piece of work, but it also required quite a bit of dedication to complete.

      If anything, the theme of this very piece may be dedication. Or it could be monotony. Or tedium. Or simplicity, given the featureless form of the clock, and the apparent lack of mechanical parts (which, obviously, is only an illusion).

      The rationale for this piece could be one or all of these, and that is what makes it art.

  6. Re:Creepy by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not to worry. He comes out. At night. And watches you sleep. When he can see that your breathing is deep and even, he collects your tears with a thin glass needle.

  7. Digital version too... by chico_the_chihuahua · · Score: 1

    The Japanese artist Yugo Nakamura designed a piece with a similar theme... in digital!

    It's funny how analog time is glacially slow and digital time is totally manic.

  8. Where's the repository? by otis+wildflower · · Score: 1

    Where can I apt-get / yum / emerge / pkg / etc. that application from?

    Looks interesting...

    1. Re:Where's the repository? by SEWilco · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's an open hardware project. Most people can build one, but it takes 9 months to download the basic hardware. Programming it takes years.

  9. Re:Ummm... by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's why it's in Idle.

  10. Wrong by electricbern · · Score: 5, Funny

    The clock is wrong. I wonder if it is due to daylight saving time.

    --
    alias possession='chmod 666 satan && ls /dev > il && tail daemon.log'
  11. Re:Ummm... by clone53421 · · Score: 1

    That must be why it’s in Idle...

    --
    Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  12. Re:Ummm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Don't look in the idle section then. I like these posts because they are entertaining and give me something to read on slow news days.

  13. Hex Clock is much cooler by arrogance · · Score: 1

    The hex clock is WAY cooler than this. And less creepy.

    http://www.intuitor.com/hex/hexclock.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal_time

    1. Re:Hex Clock is much cooler by JWSmythe · · Score: 1

          Those remind me of something I did a long time ago. I wasn't aware of "Decimal time", but it seemed to make sense to make a base10 time. I wrote a little program that would show the localtime and UTC both natively, and converted to decimal time live. It was interesting to look at for a little while, but served no purpose since no one else used it. :)

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    2. Re:Hex Clock is much cooler by Scutter · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time

      Makes more sense, easier to learn and convert in your head, and failed completely for the same reasons that hex time would fail.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
  14. Would be more impressive... by aicrules · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...if he included a second hand.

  15. Re:Ummm... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    Well then I wonder how Idle made front page.

  16. Re:Ummm... by Spazztastic · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well then I wonder how Idle made front page.

    Adjust your Slashdot homepage to not include Idle, then.

    --
    Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
  17. Hand drawn clock thing too far. by tjstork · · Score: 1

    There's been much cooler and more concise hand drawn clocks out there. This one takes a clever idea too far. Now it is annoying. I hate this clock.

    --
    This is my sig.
  18. Video not playing? by Smivs · · Score: 1

    This won't play for me. If you've got the same problem go here

    --
    Smivs on the intertubes!
  19. I want an attractive digital display by peter303 · · Score: 1

    I am amazed that most digital watches still use the same crappy seven-segment LED-displays from thirty years ago. I've look in vain for more attractive numerals, e.g. Times-Romain. Even the high-end digital watches (over $100) use crappy seven-segment numbers.

    1. Re:I want an attractive digital display by goofy183 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/8e18/

    2. Re:I want an attractive digital display by VanessaE · · Score: 1

      This is a geek forum... wouldn't that be time-ramen?

  20. The digital hand-written clock is better by csb · · Score: 2, Informative

    IMHO, the INDUSTORIOUS CLOCK [sic] is the coolest handwritten timekeeper:

    http://yugop.com/ver3/stuff/03/fla.html ...plus it has one-second resolution.

    That's still my favorite, although some prefer Human Clock:

    http://www.humanclock.com/

    That one requires occasional thought, which makes it suboptimal for a quick time check. Yes, I am that lazy. =-)

    --
    We reserve the right to serve refuse to anyone. -management
    1. Re:The digital hand-written clock is better by bodland · · Score: 1

      I hope management doesn't see this...

  21. Just think ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... of how fast the elves behind your LCD screen must be working.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  22. Re:Creepy by Looce · · Score: 4, Funny

    A thin hand drawn glass needle.

  23. Later by wzinc · · Score: 1

    Later he found-out he only needed to record a 12-hour video. :-)

  24. Re:Creepy by flydpnkrtn · · Score: 1

    Do not fear me gypsy.... I only come for your tears...

    --
    Here's to the crazy ones
  25. Re:Ummm... by ddillman · · Score: 1

    True enough, but the title did at least claim "Idle".

    --
    Little girls, like butterflies, need no excuse. -- L. Long
  26. OKAY I GET IT ALREADY by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This isn't as cool as the INDUSTORIOUS CLOCK and the artist could have looped two 12-hour recordings. Now how about you creativity experts come up with some original comments?

    --

    I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

  27. Re:Ummm... by robertc5 · · Score: 1

    You know you can edit your preferences to not show idle "news" items.

    It's the America's Top Idle, of course!

  28. What?! by Geraden · · Score: 1

    What?! No second hand??

  29. Re:Roman Numerals? by Fieryphoenix · · Score: 1

    Ancient Romans historically represented four as IIII. Using IV to represent four has only been standard in modern times. Clock making tradition predates this standardization.

  30. Re:Creepy by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

    Drawing thin glass needles by hand is hard.

    With the right tools, though, you can reliably produce glass needles fine enough to sample the contents of a single cell.(Or, presumably, sample your tears right through your eyelid without alerting you.)

  31. Re:Creepy by mangu · · Score: 1

    He comes out. At night. And watches you sleep.

    Funny, that's exactly what my cat does

  32. heh by shentino · · Score: 1

    Now that's what I call having too much time on your hands.

  33. Re:Roman Numerals? by 4181 · · Score: 1

    See Roman Numerals#IIII vs IV.

    --
    Hail IVPPITER!

  34. A real work of art by babboo65 · · Score: 1

    This is one of the finest traditions in clock making. It shows not only the workmanship of the master clock maker but also the cabinetry of the master woodworker coming together to bring you . . .

    the grandfather clock!

  35. Whats the big deal by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

    I've watched this thing all the way through three times, but I don't understand what the big deal is. It's a real pain since there are no bathroom breaks built into the show.

    Maybe a fourth time will bring enlightenment.

    --
    Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
  36. Re:Creepy by irp · · Score: 1

    Drawing thin glass needles by hand is hard.

    With the right tools, though, you can reliably produce glass needles fine enough to sample the contents of a single cell.(Or, presumably, sample your tears right through your eyelid without alerting you.)

    I couldn't decide whether to mod you Informative or Funny. Modding you Funny would have been Redundant, but Informative would have been really Funny...

    In the end I realized: I'm at work! I don't have time for this!