Keeping Time
(in 2 Parts)
Overview
When we speak of “keeping time,” we’re often referring to a “clock,” whose name derives from the Latin clocca, meaning bell. Early mechanical clocks relied on bells to signal times for prayer before they evolved into highly calibrated instruments regulating the circular motion of hands in relation to calibrated marks on a similarly circular dial.
Rather than accept the way these circular mechanisms influence socially constructed images of time, any thing that changes in a predictable manner could be considered a clock. After all, an atomic clock depends on oscillations in the nucleus of an atom and the surrounding electrons. The universe contains a multitude of phenomenae that change in a predictable manner, like the seasonal transformation of trees, or the dissolution of sugar in water.
Instructions
Develop a personal device for measuring time. This could relate to your interests, perceptions, habits, practices, or other agenda.
This could begin with a strategic transformation of the mechanical or digitial clocks we know well.
It could also depart from the conventional entirely, leverageing some phenomenon of predictable change or specific phenomenae as a measure: physical, geological, biological, ecological, economic, hydrologic, sonic, climatic, celestial, etc.
Schedule
Part 1 (one week)
1. Written Brief
Write a brief using this Prompt as a model (Overview, Instructions, Schedule, Required Reading, Optional Reading, Relevant Tutorials (if applicable), Other References)
2. Schematic Design
This is a drawing that describes the anticipated outcome, its constituent parts, and materials.
Part 2 (one week)
Fabricate the operational piece (OR) produce a physical model of the piece (OR) refine the design drawings to a high level.
Required Reading:
Gilles Deleuze, Intuition as Method, 1966.
Joshua Foer, A Minor History of Time without Clocks, 2008.
Robert Smithson, Entropy Made Visible, 1973.
Optional Reading:
Richard Carrigan Jr., Decimal Time, 1978.
Mitsura and Kiwotaka, Units of Time in Ancient China and Japan, 2004.
Relevant Tutorials
Other References:
What is an Escapement?
How a Watch Works, 1949.