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Discussing the Exquisite Clock project.
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Tim Putt ITGM 705 Art Review 2: Contemporary Digital Artifact Professor David Meyers August 8, 2010 The Exquisite Clock is timepiece that uses imagery from around the world—pieces it
together to reflects the current time. The intent of the creators was to connect time, play and
visual aesthetics. The EC can be found online at exquisiteclock.org, downloaded as an App
for the iPhone, used as a screensaver and seen in installation form and certain exhibitions.
Each output uses imagery from the same database. The database has been predominantly
generated by the viewers and other artists—as the whole goal is to have the viewer become a
part of the artwork by submitting images. The project was created and developed by Joao
Wilbert at FABRICA in 2008 with the Creative Direction of Andy Cameron.
Figure 1. Installation at Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London from 8 December 2009 to 11 April 2010.
“Exquisite Clock is a relational artwork where the boundaries between artist and author, producer and consumer are blurred. The Exquisite Clock invites you to participate in a global conversation about form, the limits of recognition and the poetics of the image, transforming a discussion of visual aesthetics into an exquisite game.”
This statement outlines the intentions of the developers at Fabrica. This “global
conversation” is a theme that is common to their mission. Fabrica isn’t a school or an
agency—it is instead a communication research center that was set up by Benetton in 1994
that is an applied creativity laboratory where young modern artists can come work on their
projects in the full spectrum of communications from photography and film to music and
design, publishing and the Internet. The “artist-experimenters” come together to create work
that goes beyond language and culture and shows the beauty and diversity of the world using
a range of mediums. EC is an example of this collaboration. The interactive artwork uses
available technology for the core of the project: javascript and css for the web-based
application, iPhone development software and lcd screens for the installations. While the
tools are common and the concept is divinely simple, the outcome is universally intriguing
and redemptive.
This type of project fits appropriately into our current obsession with personalization as well
as that of social networking. It allows the viewer to become the artist. It puts the act and the
art of creating into the users domain. By inviting the user, the original creator steps back and
lets the composition—for lack of a better word—take a mind of its own.
The artwork is stronger for including the viewer as artist. It helps the viewer to expand their
own perceptions of shape and the recognition of universal symbols. The expression about
watching the time pass by now holds new significance. Watching this visualization of time
pass by is creatively inspiring as others interpretations of numbers may widely vary from our
own.
My Experience with Exquisite Clock
Upon visiting the site, downloading the iPhone App and attempting to install the screensaver
I could not resist uploading an image of my own. Looking around my desk I noted two
simple shapes that immediately appeared as numerical symbols. I snapped a shot of my
mouse and two batteries. The upload process was simple and upon completion thought
nothing more of it. To my surprise I saw the batteries on the EC site within 20 minutes. The
excitement of the concept quickly transitioned to the surprise and delight of actually being
involved.
List of References: http://www.fabrica.it/about http://www.exquisiteclock.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZySL8zXbM. Decode:Digital Design Sensations.