Remains Clock
Visible from Manhattan’s East River and the United Nations Plaza, the giant Countdown Clock marks the number of days and hours left until the end of President Trump’s first term, when the clock will return to zero and remain blinking until turned off. At 8ft high by 25 ft wide, the bright red LED clock makes a bold statement on the Queens waterfront during both day and night, serving as a mysterious and bright counterpoint to the neighboring Pepsi-Cola Sign, which has been crowning the East River since 1940 and is now a city landmark. Commissioned by artist Matthew Barney, the Countdown Clock was erected and mounted to the building’s façade during a comedy and performance event organized at Barney’s Long Island City waterfront studio in June 2017. The artist team purposefully kept the launch of the clock “shadowy,” deciding to let the public figure out its meaning rather than advertise its intention. Studio 1Thousand collaborated with the artist team and Smooth Technology to develop the aesthetics, construction, and technology of the clock. What appears to be a retro six-digit calculator is a high-tech LED clock with a computer program that translates GPS signals into DMX, a lighting control protocol typically used in theaters and concerts. Each of the seven segments (six digits and the colon) on the clock has seven pixels to configure the entire range of digits. The clock’s computer receives GPS signals form the Navy Academy to ensure accurate time. The steel-frame and plastic weatherproof clock was constructed in Barney’s studio over a three-month time span after the computer program was made.
“We see it as a civic project, like the national debt clock...”
Brandon Stousy, Artist
Client: Matthew Barney Studio
Location: Long Island City, New York, NY
Size: 8ft x 24ft
Cost: $25,000
Project Status: Completed 2017
Team: Matthew Barney (Artist), Brandon Stosuy (Artist), Jade Archuleta-Gans (Artist), Jane Lea (Architect), Smooth Technology (Physical Computing)
Photographer: Studio 1Thousand, Brandon Stousy
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