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* Mail checks payable to "Swarthmore College"
Gift Records
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* Online - http://gift.swarthmore.edu -
go to annual fund, or alumni fund and write Senior Class Gift 2004
in the comments section
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Hi, my name is Jake. As some of you might
know, the class officers have asked me to make the class gift. I
wanted to share with you my
design and concept for a clock that would go in Eldridge commons
in the science center. Please feel no pressure to read this, as it
a little
long-winded and rambles slightly at times. If you do have time to
read it, though, I welcome any questions, comments or suggestions you
might
have. I hope everyone is having a great last semester.
Take care,
Jake Beckman
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There is a long and fascinating history of time-reckoning devices,
ranging from simple sundials to atomic clocks that are fast approaching
an essentially infinite degree of accuracy.
I was drawn to the early mechanical clocks, not just because of their
exquisite craftsmanship and intricate workings, but because they were
imperfect approximations of a pattern of time. I felt their imprecision
revealed an on-going dialogue between humans and their endeavor to
make sense of the world. Nowadays, the clock and the ultra-precise
time it tells are such a strong determinant of our daily rhythm that
we forget that they are based on a system conceived of by humans to
make the world seem more rational. Our notion of time no longer approximates
the pattern observed in nature. Rather, it has become the pattern.
I liked the idea of making a clock whose working mechanism was apparent:
a time keeping machine rather than an indicator of abstract time (such
as a digital clock). I began looking at early machines as a possible
influence and found the rivets on boilerplates and steel bridges to
be particularly appealing.
That eventually led to a design that centered on a large, flat cylinder
very similar in appearance to an old steam boiler. The cylinder would
be held a few inches away from the wall by pipes connected to it. The
boilerplate, rivets, and pipe would be made of steel and left exposed
to the air so that time would gradually change the appearance of the
clock. A large pipe would emerge from the wall several feet below the
clock and enter at the six o'clock position. The pipes leaving the
clock at each hour position would radiate outwards and then plunge
into the wall, channeling their contents away to an unknown destination.
My hope is that the pipes would integrate the clock with the building,
speak to the mechanical nature of early time-keeping machines, and
suggest that there is a continual flow of energy (be it steam, electricity,
time, etc.) through the clock. There would be a valve on the larger
pipe. This would further emphasize the idea that even though time is
continuous and unstoppable, clocks, and by extension, the way we have
come to rationalize the pattern of time, are human constructions and
are not eternal and presumably not universal.
