Christian Marclay: The Clock

From November 10 through December 4, 2016, Prospect New Orleans will present the Southern premiere of The Clock, a major work by artist Christian Marclay, in partnership with the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (900 Camp Street). Winner of the Golden Lion award at the 2011 Venice Biennale, The Clock samples thousands of film excerpts from the history of cinema that indicate the passage of time—from clock towers to wristwatches to buzzing alarm clocks—that edited together unfold on the screen in real time as a 24-hour montage.

“The Clock is an extraordinary experience and a masterful artwork. Through the history of film and the passage of time, this video tells our shared stories and documents our collective experiences. The community spirit the artwork creates is so vivid—New Orleans is the perfect city to host its Southern premiere.”
–Brooke Davis Anderson, Executive Director, Prospect New Orleans

The Clock will be screened for free in the Contemporary Arts Center’s first floor gallery from November 10–December 4, Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm; and runs continuously day and night on the weekends of November 18 and November 25 from Friday, 5pm through Sunday, 5pm. As seating is limited, admission to the installation will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no time limits for viewers. For a full schedule and live updates on visiting The Clock, visit prospectneworleans.org and Prospect’s Twitter account, @Prospect_NOLA.

Never before exhibited in the South, The Clock is a cinematic tour de force that unfolds on the screen in real time through thousands of film excerpts that form a 24-hour montage. Appropriated from the last 100 years of cinema’s rich history, the film clips chronicle the hours and minutes of the 24-hour period, often by displaying a watch or clock. From the legendary to the obscure, The Clock incorporates scenes of car chases, board rooms, emergency wards, bank heists, trysts, high noon shootouts, detective dramas, and silent comedies.

This presentation of The Clock is part of Prospect New Orleans’ Bridge Years Community Engagement Programs—a series of free workshops, lectures, and activities that lead up to the opening of Prospect.4 (P.4), the fourth iteration of Prospect New Orleans’ citywide art exhibition. P.4 will feature more than 50 artists selected by Artistic Director Trevor Schoonmaker, Chief Curator and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, November 11, 2017 and run through February 25, 2018 aligning with the City of New Orleans’s Tricentennial celebration. The last edition of Prospect New Orleans’s triennial, Prospect.3: Notes for Now, took place from October 25, 2014 to January 25, 2015 featuring 58 artists selected by Artistic Director Franklin Sirmans and engaging over 100,000 visitors during its 13-week run.

The Clock is presented by Prospect New Orleans in partnership with the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. The premiere presentation of The Clock in New Orleans is made possible by generous support from Whitney Bank, the Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, Ralph and Susan Brennan, and an Anonymous gift. Technical production by Solomon Group, New Orleans. Special thanks to Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.