wall clock. Alarm Clock. watch. Decorative clocks and boring clocks. Ornate glass clock. Cuckoo clock and weird clock. Artist girlfriend Barbara Koenen has collected hundreds of watches over the years. Many of them were donated by her friends and fans. The Chicago Design Museum has also collaborated with Koenen to curate its collection into a new exhibition. exact timeat the Expo 72 Gallery on East Randolph Street.
Koenen began his exploration of watches in 1989 while a graduate student at the Art Institute of Chicago. In her first exhibition, she collected her 720 broken clocks (one for each minute she spent in 12 hours). This new exhibition shows us the beauty, magnitude and absurdity of time.
Tanner Woodford, the museum’s executive director, says he now owns more than 800 clocks and his goal is to reach 1440 minutes, or minutes in a 24-hour period. So they still collect them. They are looking for more clocks, clocks and time antiques and can donate their own broken things when they visit the exhibit. Contrary to the title of the exhibition, neither the clock nor the clock works. When I visited the opening of the exhibition this week, I exhibited a glass encrusted watch with a large number dial and a purple leather strap. It doesn’t work the day after you receive it as a party favor.
This exhibit focuses on Chicago’s role as a center of timekeeping history. The 19th century was a time of growth and expansion for the United States, and Chicago was a center of commerce and industry. Before time zones were created, cities and towns set their local time based on the position of the sun. However, the growth of railroads required a certain amount of time across the country. In 1883, Chicago set the stage for the General Time Convention, where his four standard time zones were devised. So today we use Eastern Time, Central Time, Mountain Time and Pacific Time instead of Peoria Time and Omaha Time. (Summertime is another story.)
The Design Museum also features an exhibition wall where visitors can answer “How has time changed you for the better?” Stick it on the paper circle and stick it on the wall. As I was trying to determine what my memory of time was, I was reminded of a sentence by Kurt Vonnegut, so of course I circled between time and Timbuktu, and wrote below it, “Kurt Vonnegut is the author of this exhibition.” I hope for you,” he wrote. (Between Time and Timbuktu It was a 1972 TV movie based on the work of Vonnegut. The title refers to a collection of poems written by characters in Vonnegut’s second novel. siren of titan.)
In her art, Barbara Coenen explores the impact of war on culture through painting, sculpture, performative installations and exhibitions. She is also curator of Creative Chicago Her Reuse Exchange (CCRx), a non-profit organization that redistributes donated surplus materials, equipment and supplies. , arts and community groups.
exact time You can spend an hour or so at the exhibit, learn more about time than you ever thought you needed to know, and see an amazing collection of watches of all types. The exhibit runs through October 3 at his Expo 72 gallery at his Museum of Design (72 E. Randolph St.). Exhibits are open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free and you can donate your own broken watch for the exhibit. If so, it will be added to your display within the next two weeks. The museum also has a schedule of events based on its exhibits.
Photos courtesy of the Chicago Design Museum unless otherwise noted.
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