St. Mark's Clock by Tina Jett - click image to view more
This past weekend saw the arrival of Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the U.S. and other countries. More than half of the world actually does NOT participate in DST (and not even all of the U.S.), and the practice has been scrutinized for some of the challenges and disruptions it creates. At least someone had the decency to set the time change for o’dark-thirty on a Sunday morning so most of us have a day to adjust. Works well for the perpetually late during the work week and those with a penchant for hibernating.
Keeping time goes back to the days of prehistoric man, when tracking the stars, sun, moon, and seasons became a way of planning activities surrounding daily life, farming, rituals, and events. Humans have denoted the passing of time with sundials, hourglasses, watches, and now our phones. Yearly calendars have also evolved over the centuries, from those like the lunar-based Chinese and Islamic calendars, to the Roman-turned-Julian version used worldwide.
Clock devices and calendars take many physical forms these days, which also means that they are perfect instruments for us to experiment with art and technology.
From the top:
DIY perpetual photo calendar – Photojojo shows you how to take your own photos and create this functional and beautiful wall calendar with endless visual possibilites.
Forest Clock by Decoylab – The look of intricate cut paper art in an awesome acrylic wall clock.
The Spiral Clock – Ingenious rotating clock that sold out of its first edition, but should be back later this year.
Maritime Pocket Sundial by Authentic Models – Authentic Models has some great illustrations for their kid products, which just make me want them for myself even more.
Screensaver clocks – The Fliqlo clock has been one of the more popular, but doing an online search will bring up a vat of possible options.
Enzo Mari perpetual calendar – Based on his 1959 design, this ruler-style sliding calendar is also a great art piece made from three types of wood.
About Tina Jett
Beautiful. I tend to really dislike the marker of ‘time’ because it brings along with it some kind of sense of urgency to it. However, I do love the celebration of time. Of saying, you’re here, this time is beautiful, you’re alive, look around. One of the places I really feel that is the Prague Orloj clock, or the Astronomical Clock. It’s so beautiful and inspiring, we must have watched it nearly a dozen times while we visited.
I just looked up that Orloj clock… That thing is GORGEOUS!! I can’t get over how many components there are to it. I’d camp out in front of it, too.
On one hand, I agree with Susan – clocks create such a sense of urgency. But, they also foster anticipation. I love helping my daughter count down the days until our next plane ride to our hometown (where Grandma and Granddad live). There is something so satisfying in watching her eagerly add another mark to the rainbow of Xs ticking off the days gone by.
And then there are the instruments of marking time. That perpetual calendar is to die for!And have you seen this ink doo-dad? http://pinterest.com/pin/8175573/ Again, to die for. Plus the way lace-like gears interlock and intermove and interdepend on each other is like moving art.
I’m in love with Christmas advent calendars for that anticipation factor. Then again, my brother and I used to count down the days to Christmas starting with December 26…