A few weeks ago my mom asked me if I wanted to see this exhibit that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She told me it was called “The Clock”. I turned to her and said, “Mom, I know what I clock looks like”, and she simply replied “Katie, you have never seen a clock like this.”

The Clock is an exhibit that is an ode to time and cinema. It’s comprised of thousands of clips from a range of films that create a 24-hour, looped, single-channel video. The Clock gives viewers the accurate time at any point in the 24 hours that it is shown; it’s literally a working time piece. The artist, Christian Marclay, collected thousands of film clips of wristwatches, clock towers, sundials, alarm clocks, and countdowns, among other things, each of which show a particular moment that is used to illustrate every minute in a 24-hour period. You can use the piece to tell what time it is, but what’s really cool is all the film clips you’re shown. There were a lot of films I’d never seen or heard of that were shown in The Clock, and it made me want to have my own movie marathon.

The exhibit is no longer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but you can search for it online to see various clips. I highly recommend finding it online, because when I saw it, it truly blew me away. I love art and think it’s very interesting and fascinating, but my mom was right, I had never seen anything like that in my life. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. You’ll be mesmerized.

-Katie