I hope you have T O D A Y and or ThePresent securely on your wall. These timepieces are hefty so using a screw or nail at an angle, helps prevent falling. I've replaced a handful of shattered clocks and I'm running out of spare glass, so please take care.
How To Hang
ONE MINUTE - THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
So, uhm, what's it like to live with these things?
When I look up and notice it I'm reminded that there is always a different way of seeing the world, even the world of time.
The kindest, most helpful thing you could possibly do to continue "backing" the project, would be to spare a few minutes of your time to write a review of your personal experience of ThePresent & T O D A Y.
In order to post a review you have to create an account, it takes five seconds. Okay, writing a review will take longer than a minute or two admittedly.
As you can probably imagine, it's challenging for people to understand what to expect with these timepieces and it needs your help. A few words from you would go a long way to helping more people change the way they see their days. It would mean so much to me, to hear from you, on a public forum like the MoMA.
TWO MINUTES - THE SENSE OF NONSENSE
In the year 2000, I was a production assistant on the set of a Verizon commercial. After being asked to move the gaffer's white 96' Jeep Cherokee out of the shot, I slipped into the driver's seat and turned the engine. Spooling out of the tape deck in the dash was a warm voice resonating in the speakers. The accent was English and he was speaking with such curious certainty about the nature of reality. I spun the Cherokee around the block, eased into a parking spot and sat there, transfixed.
"Thrifty, what's your 20?" came over the walkie. I wanted to say "I'm in a lecture hall getting schooled on microbiology, over." but that would have been confusing so I responded, "Flying in, over." I turned the car off but before getting out I hit eject on the tape deck. It was a white tape with black letters that read, Alan Watts "Sense of Nonsense" Electronic University. I took a picture of it in my mind, popped it back in the tape deck, shut the door and handed the keys back to the gaffer with a smile.
Scott: "Wow Beau, I didn't want to leave your car, that Alan guy is on point." Beau the Gaffer: "Did I just introduce you to Alan Watts?"
Scott: "I think so."
Beau the Gaffer: "You're welcome." Scott: "Thank you."
After the wrap party that night I got on Limewire and downloaded as many mp3's I could of this Alan guy. Any other PA could have offered to move that car, I wonder how many years it would have been before I began absorbing the work of this philosophical entertainer.
Last year I was cleaning house listening to a three hour talk he gave to IBM in the mid-sixties about the future of technology. In those three hours he describes something exactly like Amazon, the iPhone in uncanny detail, the need for some new company to "organize the world's information" and ends by calling for the symbol of a circular spectrum, to be seen everywhere so that it may remind people of some unspeakable human truth that words cannot express.
My heart skipped a beat upon hearing that so I edited this one minute video in a way that makes it seem as if Alan Watts is introducing ThePresent.
THREE MINUTES - BREATHING MEDITATION
Whenever I'm anxious I often catch myself not breathing deeply enough, so I made a guided breathing meditation video for myself that you can try. It actually helps. Breathe in as the circle grows in size, breathe out as the circle gets smaller, three-minutes, easy.
TEN MINUTES - SCOTT GETS INTIMATE
I posted the video and Kickstarter page for ThePresent on October 11th, 2011.
Those first thousand timepieces shipped in Spring of 2013. The MoMA bought the remaining 1000 and began selling them in the Spring of 2014. In 2015 I made another 1000 and MoMA bought all of them before I finished. In 2016 I launched T O D A Y to healthy support and due to the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune, shipped at the start of 2018.
So what now?
If you've read this far, thank you, I will assume that you want to know.
If anyone remembers my last update in March regarding 'something.' I haven't written that off completely but I did decide to take a step back before rushing into, anything. 2017 was a profoundly difficult year and not solely because everything that could go wrong during production did go wrong.
Beyond that, my Mother who had finally paid off her house, became severely ill a week after her 64th birthday on the Spring Equinox of 2017. I got on a flight, arrived at the hospital in the afternoon and she passed that night. My birthday is on the Autumn Equinox and we had a telepathic connection throughout life. She was an artist who was terrified of accepting that she was an artist, to her own detriment.
She lived check to check like most Americans and died, in my estimation, from longterm complications from a deeply stressful approach to life. Also, like most Americans she lived in decades of constant fear of falling ill and being bankrupted and rendered homeless by the "health" "care" industry here. I honestly think she went so fast in part to keep the costs down. That is not a joke. If you live in a more civilized country where money isn't more important than the health of its own citizens, it was a little over $25,000 USD for the 36 hours she was there.
However, I feel lucky to have been able to be there as she passed. She was a life long worshipper of the sea and so I played the sounds of ocean waves from my "phone" while I coached her through the process of relinquishing the profoundly exhausting responsibility of being alive. "Just think," I said, "You don't have to pay any more bills. You don't have to pretend to be happy when you're not anymore. It's okay to let go, you earned it. You were a Mother to so many people Mom, thank you."
this is not an instagram filter lol
And she was. If only she had been able to be more of a Mother to herself she may have lived as long as her own mother, who passed three months before her at 88.
She was a longtime lover of color and was so excited that people like yourself dared to back my "far-out" clocks. I miss the riotous laughs we shared and so much more but I have few regrets. She gave me life and made it incomparably more rich with her inquisitiveness and knowledge. Besides not meeting my fiancée in person and other future life whoppers like that, my one regret is that I was unable to watch Bo Burnham's 'What' with her.
I think she would have found it as funny and thrilling as I have. It's wildly creative, seriously offensive, acrobatically inventive, almost painfully brilliant and we cherished rare things like that. Here is the joke I always imagined her asking me in a fit to "pause it" so she could collect herself. The whole thing is a full frontal comedy of the absurd.
I always wanted to mention the mom thing to you but I didn't know how or just felt it was inappropriate. Maybe it still is. Everyone's mom passes, why mention it all, right? To take liberty with Hamlet for the second time today, "Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Scott, to give these mourning duties to your mother.
But you must know your mother lost a mother, That mother lost, lost hers, and the survivor bound in filial obligation for some term to do obsequious sorrow."
It's still so unclear what the etiquette should be between the backer-creator relationship. I no longer post socially in any way shape or form beyond these updates and I've actually been adverse to talking about it all, to anyone. I did not, and do not, want to solicit sympathy or to have to read comments saying sorry for your loss, so thank you, but please don't do that. When I think of my Mom all I can focus on is all that I gained from her, namely, her ability to inspire me to see things in my own way. A gift that you bear witness to with the perspective shifting gifts you now own.
So when I have that foreboding sense of loss everyone likes to apologize to you for having, I let it dissolve into an awareness of wonder that she actually existed at all. Instead of focusing on how strange it is that I can't call her, I become hyper aware of how strange it was that I discussed so much with her for such a large part of my life in the first place. It's one thing to see something as ordinary as time in a new way, it's not too far out from that to be able flip absence into a reminder of the closeness we so often had the joy to share. I've been trying to sort this out and I think I just did it. I suppose I just needed time and an audience. Anyways, if she still happens to be breathing right now, call your mom and ask her for advice on anything, make it up if you have to.
Leaning Left
Wake Up
It was a wake up call to the path that I've been traveling. The truth is that I miss directing and editing videos. I devoted my life to that practice for years like an addict before jumping ship head first into the sea of time. My work as a director/editor was intimately related to time and timing and rhythym but after making over 500 videos I got the idea in my head that producing actual "things' as opposed to videos needed to be the focus. The sentiment was that when someone transforms money into a physical object that they interact with, however intermittently, over time it somehow "meant more" than the ephemera of pressing the play button on a video screen.
And you know what? To me, it is. It is more meaningful to have a piece of art in the gallery of a living room, than to spend two minutes watching a well made video. Yet, after five years of making these "actual things" which in its most pure essence is about ordering, lifting, organizing, transporting, emptying and filling boxes; the ethereal nature of directing and editing videos has never looked more enchanting. I wrote a script for a spot last month and it was the highlight of my year so far. It was chosen and I'm heading to Asia at the end of the month to direct again!
All things considered
The most rewarding feature of this role as a Clock Jobber, which is an actual job title, not mine, but it is a thing people used to be, is hearing from owners of the clocks from around the world.
Last week, a woman from Frankfurt emailed me to ask about getting a hold of the T O D A Y clock she saw at a friends place on Formentera Island. How crazy is that? It's the island off the coast of Ibiza, which is an island off the coast of Spain.
Island Time
It's rare, but I do get emails from people telling me that living with T O D A Y has done something to them or seeing ThePresent has helped them realize something they never thought of before.
I think gazing at it periodically, instead of at an "am I late" clock, adds up to a healthier mind and a connection with time. Even simple things like explaining to our young children when gardening season begins or when birthdays happen using an 'annual' clock has made the yearly rhythm around the sun more tangible and less abstract than with a calendar.
However, I must admit that it feels embarrassingly selfish to be the only person to read these things. That is why I'm asking you directly, if you do want to give me the invaluable of expressing something please do it on the public forum at the MoMA.
Okay, so, like you said earlier, what Now?
I have almost all of the parts I need in order to make a few hundred more of these gift-able desk clocks. I actually only need to buy the prints and boxes. Desk clocks only. I'm currently on the fence about launching a small Kickstarter project to acquire the funding I will need to complete those. I'm considering launching a project on October 11th, the seven year anniversary of launching ThePresent.
It would be a run limited to the clocks I will be able to complete within a month after receiving the funds. Meaning there will be a limit, a cap to the amount of clocks I can offer. I also have a new color palette design for TODAY that I'm in love with and want to make a tiny batch of by using some of the remaining desk clock parts. I'm legitimately apprehensive about posting it publicly prior to the launch. It's so interesting that I am certain it will be knocked off.
I currently have a dozen glassless T O D A Y wall clocks remaining.
There are no more glassless versions of ThePresent and they will not be made again.
If any Australians are looking for a glassless Southern Hemisphere version of ThePresent, I have exactly five left.
Email me with the header SOUTHIE to [email protected] and we can set something up.
If you are looking for ThePresent or T O D A Y in glass and steel, the MoMA is the only place you can find them.
Sincerely, you don't have to do anything, you've done enough already. Especially if you've read this whole thing! Thank you for helping to make this idea of mine come to fruition and thank you for reading this update. It took me roughly eleven hours to make and it was worth every minute. I hope you are able to get something, anything out of it as well.
And please, if these things have had any impact at all, and you want to tell me about it, let me know through a review on the MoMA site.
Scott Thrift
THREE HOURS
In closing, I would like to recommend a long, engrossing film called Yi Yi. It's a slow burn drama set in Taipei. I saw it years ago and I remember it feeling like a long wave that eroded what I thought art could do. It was like nothing else I had ever seen. I saw it again last night and this line from the village voice sums it up perfectly, "To describe [Yi Yi] as a three-hour Taiwanese family drama is like calling Citizen Cane a film about a newspaper."
Unless you buy it, you're not going to find it on any streaming services. The director, Edward Yang passed in 2007 at 59 and was known for having little interest in marketing or distributing his seven films. Yang never believed making money had much to do with what he was after as an artist.
However, some saint posted the whole thing on Youtube for free last month, which is where I saw it last night. The transfer isn't in HD but at least you get to see it. Just noticed the view count, 1,867 views, what a strange world this is. This update goes out to 1,800 people in 52 countries. If one person takes the time to turn off their phone, quiet the distractions and check this movie out, I would love to hear about your impression of this film. [email protected]
The Norwegian artist that made the spellbinding gif at the header is named Eirik Solheim
Books I've enjoyed this year.
Seeing is Forgetting the name of the thing One Sees Moby Dick (first time!) Deep Work (again) Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Now Greater than the Sum of our Parts The Invisible Man No Longer Human The Book of Five Rings Norse Mythology The Diamond Cutter Stoner (it's not about thc!) How Proust Can Change Your Life Meditations (again)
The Internet of Thing
about 6 years ago
– Sun, Mar 11, 2018 at 08:08:17 PM
This update coincides with ongoing absurdity of daylight savings, Spring Forward. As I mentioned in an update last October, it is possible to simply leave TODAY where it is. However, if you would like to alter it to read the exact time, simply spin the blue wheel to align with noon or 6pm/6am or midnight as you please. If you want to sign a petition to stop daylight savings in the US, go here.
If you're just starting out with these timepieces, the soundest advice I can give is to,
give yourself time.
Time to notice. Time to adjust.
Time catch-yourself. Time to see things differently.
Each timepiece is a low effort guide to gradually enrich your sense of timing.
By holding a mirror to the natural world, they invite you to explore your own time horizon.
Time in Color is a global art experiment to enrich how we relate to time.
If you want to help more people experience Time in Color, please consider gifting someone a new way of seeing the day. Use the code backer to get it at the Kickstarter project price of $88. You can click on the picture below or go to timeincolor.com
Did I just list a discount code for a work of art that has the potential to transform how you see your day?
Yes. Yes I did. I have no shame in doing so as these objects are philosophically inert on the shelf so I do hope you'll consider bringing one to life by gifting TODAY.
So it turns out that, with the help of backers like yourself around the world, I make these sorts of physical art product things.
To date, I've made three works in this art > product niche.
T O D A Y, ThePresent and something
All three are post-national works of art designed to change your mind. More than likely you are familiar with ThePresent and TODAY, so now if you have the time, I want to tell you about something.
You are looking at something.
Weight: 1 Megabyte Material: Billiard Ball Resin
Pressure Engraved Font Designed by Scott Thrift
Made in Colombia, 2003
Intellectual Property
On the night of January 4th, 2002 I had a vision of something.
It was an absurdists version of enlightenment. Something was the culmination of everything I had experienced up until that moment it arrived in my head.
I starting making them by dozens and then by the hundreds, giving all of them away.
I never felt comfortable giving the one pictured below away because I messed up the letters. Now this scratched version is the only one I have let from the initial batch.
something. 2002
As a proof of concept, something was a crude block of wood that I painted and stamped the word something on, obviously.
Yes, I know this might look ridiculous but this primitive thing opened doors and revealed truths I may have never considered in the first place. I've watched it perform some sort of spell, thousands of times, that accelerates camaraderie and curiosity amongst the interested.
back
For the first time, I felt like I was doing my job as an artist, to fall in love with some aspect of the world and be its champion.
I would give them out as gifts to friends and strangers and take a keen interest in the behavior that ensued.
Throughout the course of 2002, I made and gave away 500 to master the shape and because it was too much fun to stop.
2003 Blueprint of something
My creative partner at the time was from Colombia. We both lived in Miami and had just finished making an independent short film together. We asked ourselves, instead of being another company trying to make films, why not be the company that is trying to make something happen?
His father recognized our excitement and wanted to help us make something happen with his manufacturing connections in Colombia. I was asked to supply the best sample and create a diagram explaining how something should look.
The diagram above was used to make the first prototype of something in Colombia below.
something. prototype. 2003
50,000 of these were made.
We ordered 5,000 in the heaviest material in stock and they transformed the same money to make 50,000 using the lightest material in stock, thinking they were doing us a favor.
So you see, my trouble with manufacturing has been well underway since arriving at the port in 2003 and realizing that we had 50,000 prototypes of something.
Of those 50,000 only 2,000 prototypes remain. More on what happened to 48,000 in another update.
Getting something right.
The prototypes were worlds beyond the crude original yet lacking a certain weight prevented us from feeling like we had something on our hands.
You see, with something as primitive as it is, the main determinant of quality becomes density and weight.
So to increase the density and weight, we went through one more round of refinement.
Instead of wood, the same resin used to make billiard balls was utilized.
Elegant touches like the semi-gloss coating and engraving of the word made something feel legit.
Ultimately it was the surprising value increase offered by the weight that made us feel like we finally had something on our hands. All of the sudden it felt priceless, like a magical item, a literal conversation piece.
We made a few thousand of them.
They were and are stunning.
Only 4 remain.
Kickstarter
When I first heard of Kickstarter in 2010, I thought, "something is basically made for this." So I decided to learn how to use the platform and presented the 365-Day timepiece ThePresent. Living with ThePresent inspired a similar version using the 24-Hour scale, TODAY.
Thinking of Kickstarting something?
Yes.
When?
Starting day will be between April 1st and June 1st.
Why now?
Something is a beautiful thing on its own. It deserves to be made again and shared. In another 15 years, everything will change but some things will remain the same.
I'm unusually excited about this all over again because something has happened recently that is capable of positioning this object as an incredibly futuristic piece of technology.
Hear me out, I've been laser etching QR codes into the back of something this past week in a test to see if I can make the QR code can send your phone to a unique site.
It works beautifully as you can see in the GIF below.
At the moment, I have the QR code sending you to timeincolor.com
Now just imagine a QR code etched into something (making it the one and only ID of that singular something) that gives you access to the entire history of something.
a custom QR code for each something
a mock up of size and placement
In the next update I'll go into more detail about how something has the chance to be physical living example of the digital promise of blockchain technology. I'll also have a better idea if what the rewards will be but I'm not thinking of charging more than $10 for something, probably 2 for $20 so you can hold on to one and let something go (so you can keep track of what happens to something)
The Internet of Thing
Just think, having a unique QR code etched into something will make each piece an original. With a nimble app, you'll be able to access, update and keep track of the "history" of something indefinitely.
Doing this the right way will make it possible for something to be an example of 'object permanence' for the internet of things.
If anyone reading this has experience building apps that can seamlessly auto-update a blockchain through a QR window, please write to me and introduce yourself. I always prefer to work with a backer who believes in the promise of the art > products I make so please email me at [email protected] if you want to make something happen!
If anyone reading this enjoys the experience of Time in Color but has not given either ThePresent or TODAY as a gift yet, please consider going "full circle" and gifting this unique way of seeing time to a friend.Buy Time at timeincolor.com
Thank you for reading, wishing you a nice day today.
Yes, something, is what I meant by Blockchain Game - however, I feel that Internet of Thing makes more sense.
Scott
What a ride.
about 6 years ago
– Sun, Feb 18, 2018 at 11:18:46 PM
Okay, the rollercoaster ride of producing TODAY is over.
My legs are still a bit wobbly but at the moment I can confidently say 98.97% of every pledge has been fulfilled. If you do not have what you pledged for please let me know, [email protected]
I can’t thank you enough for hanging in there and not asking for a refund. I do hope you are intrigued by the experience of seeing time in a new way.
If you still want to help this project grow, the following three things are the most effective way to make sure these timepieces will shift perceptions for many years to come.
1. Gift TODAY or ThePresent to yourself or someone else you love.
I only have eight of ThePresent clocks remaining, yes, eight and only a handful of the others. So if you wanted to wait until October to get one for your friend who would love it, please know that I am nearly sold out.
Use the code BACKER to get a 12% discount on what I have left in the store. No one asked for it, but you saw it here first, you can now buy Time in Color with ETH, BTC and LTC. Coinbase Commerce is an option now when checking out, it's kind of incredible.
2. Audio review
It can be a bit tough to pin down what the experience of living with these timepieces is like. So I thought it would be fun to make a space where you can think out loud about your impressions of ThePresent and or TODAY. Give me a ring and do your best to explain what it's like as I’m going to let my phone go straight to voicemail for the week, my mobile number is in the audio clip below, at the end.
Listen to the audio above and leave a message by ringing me at any time this week. I may lift certain moments from the voicemail to feature on my site but you will remain anonymous.
3. Written Review
If you’re more of a wordsmith, I’d love to hear from you in writing. Sharing a recent note from a backer here, I hope that's okay Kayla.
Scott,
Just wanted to take the time and congratulate you on a beautifully executed functional piece of art. I received my clock a few months ago, and I really do enjoy waking up to it in my bedroom.
I thought that I would enjoy it most on weekends when I’m fully in control of my own time. But I almost enjoy it more on work days; it calms me to realize that it really is only a fraction of my day/life.
I hope to purchase The Present sometime in the future when the stars in my bank account align. Until then, I will sing praises for Today to anyone who’ll listen.
Congratulations again,
~ Kayla Backer #785
Three more things
1. I’m 98.97% sure I will no longer be making ThePresent and TODAY in steel and glass. I know it is beautiful and I love it, but the costs and complications of working with steel and glass have forced me to redesign it moving forward. The factory shorted me 200 units, I paid for them, they just never made them. If they did, I would have made a total of 5000 units in Steel and Glass instead of 4800. I’m telling you this because if you like the steel and glass they just became even more limited than they were at the top of this update.
2. My highest shipping estimate was $36,000 to send out all of the clocks. It wound up costing $49,000. If you live far, far away from New York and noticed that the shipping cost on the box was more than you added to your initial pledge, please consider donating the difference to my Paypal account, [email protected].
I realize this is a long shot but I simply must at least ask.
3. I’m totally fascinated with blockchain technology. In short, it’s the DNA on which computer systems of the near and distant present will emerge.
So I’m developing something, that I’ve been referring to within my inner circle (which is basically my Fiancée and our cat, Esmerelda D. Grimsby) as a "blockchain game." That’s all the detail I want to share now but it's shaping up to be the ideal Kickstarter project and I plan to launch it this Spring/Summer with your support.
I’m hoping I can work with Kickstarter to have the first project that is focused not on a financial goal but a certain Backer number goal. More updates on this soon.
One of the authors of this piece was an original backer of ThePresent!
It's one of the best articles on the subject even though it was published in the ancient history of January 2017. Put bluntly, the blockchain is, "The Internet: Part II"
In closing, for now. (I have no intention of discontinuing the updates)
These timepieces are meant to be a low effort art installation. If they do anything at all, I hope at some point they inspire a frameless moment in time. Troubles come and troubles go.
I do hope it is on your wall securely as they are heavy objects that need a solid installation. Change the batteries on TODAY once every 2-3 years and on ThePresent once every 3-4 and they will last until 2118, when they will spontaneously shatter into dust.
Have a New Year
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Jan 10, 2018 at 10:39:59 PM
If you remove the two and zero, it's easy to imagine that the whole of human civilization just turned 18. Kind of makes sense, no? Imagine how much more stable we will be as an Earth-based civilization at 35? 45? 75?
2018 Typeface by Alex Trochut
18 months ago you got behind the idea of simplifying the way we see the day.
As of TODAY, everything has shipped. I held back on this update so that I could say everything, so yes, everything.
If you do not have a notification with a tracking number, please let me know. [email protected]
Thank you for your patience (and not asking for a refund) as I pulled this thing to the finish line. There have been and will continue to be shipping mistakes. Seriously, if you got your clock without a hitch and it works properly, you have been witness to a small miracle.
Now, there are only a handful of timepieces left, so if you planned on getting an extra one for yourself or a friend, please visit my site, timeincolor.com and get one for yourself or someone else you love.
Occasionally I had the good conscience to film some of the processes. This is a montage of the past 8 months so you have a peek at what went down to get that box to your door.
Is my timepiece a limited edition?
Technically speaking, yes. Here are the numbers of clocks I made in 2017.
TODAY 1200
ThePresent 600
TODAY (Open) 650
ThePresent (Open) 250
TODAY (Desk) 2500
ThePresent (Desk) 250
TOTAL 5,450 timepieces.
These were all made and shipped to 52 countries between May 2017 and yesterday.
Is TODAY supposed to represent an accurate portrayal of sunrise and sunset?
Not exactly, it is meant to suggest a more poetic take on the way a day on Earth moves. In the same way ThePresent is a poetic interpretation of the seasons, TODAY is reminiscent of sunrise and sunset but only to the degree with which it illuminates that natural balance.
Oops, I’ve dropped it and it’s broken, can I pay to have it fixed?
Yes, I would be happy to refurbish any part of your clock at any point in its lifetime. I’ve replaced the glass on a handful of clocks already and have even replaced two movements that suffered from battery leaking. This is why it is good to keep the main box if at all possible. I expect your timepiece to be operational for many decades to come, as long as you change the batteries (once every 2-3 years for TODAY, once every 3-4 years for ThePresent) there is little reason why it should not last a lifetime.
What do I hang this with?
Care. Please treat it as you would any work of art by making sure you are either drilling into a stud or you are using an anchor set for drywall or brick. I highly recommend using screws unless you are an art hanging whizz.
Where do people usually hang it? Can I hang it in direct sunlight?
The print is designed to relish direct sunlight. I don’t recommend having it in sun all day, but for some part of the day, it is more than okay, it is recommended. The print truly comes to life in pure sunlight. As far as where you should hang it securely, stay away from areas with high humidity or rapidly shifting temperatures. In other words, it will look good in the kitchen but you don’t want it right next to where you steam your broccoli.
I’ve put the batteries in but nothing seems to be happening.
To ensure that there is a solid connection between the battery and the metal components inside the battery compartment, please “roll” the battery in place until it feels “locked” into place. Sometimes when you insert a battery it will need to be “rolled” in place until it feels like the strongest connection has happened.
If this doesn't work, remove the batteries and try again. ThePresent auto-sets itself. TODAY is manual set only, so it's best to insert the battery at noon. If you wonder if ThePresent is working, you can always watch the back where a small green LED light goes off every 60 seconds. It is possible to confirm that TODAY is working by observing the small blue wheel on the back, which moves silently every second. Still, have an issue? Contact me.
Can I clean and touch the face of my open desk clock or wall clock?
Absolutely. The face of your timepiece was “Reverse-Printed” which means that the ink is protected beneath the proprietary matte film. So no amount of rubbing, even with a damp cloth, will mar the print in any way. The edge detail is strong but if you pick at it with a fingernail or tool, it is possible to ruin the print so please be kind to the edge of your open clock. Dropping it will almost certainly result in a damaged print.
How do I clean the steel and glass version?
A damp cloth will be all you need to wipe down the steel versions of both timepieces.
Will the brass “feet” of the Desk Clock scratch my desk?
If you set it down gently and take care not to drag it across the table, it will be fine.
The desk clock has tipped over several times, any tips on preventing any tips?
The method of stabilization for the desk clock is elegant to the degree of being precarious. I do not recommend having the desk clock on a surface that is not completely stable. One good bump and the desk clock might make a run for the door.
Honestly, please take care of it and remember that you can use the desk version as a wall clock.
Wait one second, my clock is not perfect, I’ve found a small scratch on the back and dent on the edge of the rim?!
If you look closely enough, you can find a problem with every, single, clock. That I can promise you. Perfection only exists in the mind. Though I strove for high quality at every level, there are serious limitations to a project of this scale. I ordered 2000 clocks, 1200 TODAY clocks and 800 ThePresent clocks. Get this, they actually did not deliver 200 of ThePresent clocks that I paid for which is why there are so few ThePresent clocks left over (24 at the time of this writing). If cosmetic errors did not alter the function of the clock, especially on the back, which will only be seen for a few minutes of the clocks lifetime, I had to approve, pack and ship it. This was never an operation where I thought I would be able to order hundreds of extras just in case there were scratches. I had to use "the whole buffalo". The art is in the experience of having a new format of time to reference in your life.
The thing I want to know about isn't in this update, can I email you with my question?
Always.
This is me in late October making the last of the Open Style TODAY's. It is revealing of the sort of thought process I went through continually as I made each timepiece. Unless there is some larger than life aspiration, I don't think it would be possible to produce the number of timepieces I produced this year.
Are there any cuts in this video?
No.
Oh okay, is it super boring?
Yes.
Are you going to take some time off?
No.
Will you make different designs, different colors?
Yes.
Will this be the last update?
No.
Do you still like us?
So much.
Will you launch another Kickstarter at some point?
Probably.
What's the deal with the public scale version?
I've done the research and it's totally possible to transform the only remaining street clock in Brooklyn into Time in Color.
It's a block away from my apartment and I've been looking at this clock since 2004. It has never been operational. It is mechanically dead, culturally dead and is a drag on the consciousness of the community, that has to see it in disrepair every day.
I want to bring it to life by replacing the faces on both sides with ThePresent and TODAY.
However, with ThePresent, I will alter the colors to be more accurate to the seasons in NYC.
What I'm envisioning is a Climate Clock version of ThePresent.
It will look like ThePresent and move like ThePresent but the face will be custom made to represent the averages of shifting seasons over time. This way, we can have a map of the seasons as they stand now so that in ten years time, we can see how the climate changes and become more informed on a fundamental level about the world we live on. Ideally, I make this one a reality in NY and then do one in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.
Imagine for a moment that we are able to get these public scale versions of the clock in different cities. Tourists could visit the clock in the town square and get a very real sense of how the seasons change by looking at ThePresent which is custom designed to represent the changes of the seasons in that location. This way, the tourist could understand where they are in the grand scheme of that location, on the planet. By seeing this singular vision of time in multiple locations around the world, we will come to know the planet better. You will be encouraged to believe that every city, no matter how diverse or strange is all on the same planet.
This is meant to be an equalizing force, as it is the simple force of nature. Time is one of the few things everyone agrees on regardless of age, race, religion or nationality. Isn't it about time we build on that fact and expand our awareness? Imagine that you just had a baby or are about to have a child. Why on Earth would you deny this kid a deeper understanding of the planet and how it changes? Imagine growing up with access to a total of three dimensions of time, each as valid as the next.
Everything has changed except for the device we use to measure change.
Time in Color is complementary to the existing order of Time in Black and White.
ThePresent and TODAY help to humanize our comprehension of time.
These are mockups but you get the point. Imagine the faces lighting up at night slowly as it gets dark, just like your computer screen!
I am deeply interested in making this a reality and would love to bring it to life with your help. Whether it is this specific street clock or not, I'm beginning to believe that the pictures below are the best insight I have into 2018 and beyond.
There would be a small sign on the clock explaining both faces.
I had to stay away from email towards the end to be able to finish the project. So if you were waiting to hear back from me on something I'll be responding over the next two revolutions of TODAY.
What else?
I wonder if there isn't a new way to seize the moment at birthday parties. The birthday song/moment we all do is a profound example of how little we try to make our moments matter.
Imagine after everyone sings that droning melody, we all hold hands in a circle around the one who is being honored. One person (not the one being honored) has to MC the moment. While holding hands, the MC starts a low rumble in their voice that is joined by the other guests.
As it slowly builds over 8-10 seconds our voices harmonize and get higher in pitch as we raise our hands together. The one who is having the birthday party should slowly turn in place. It feels like a slow-motion chant, but it is just one tone that gets rises in pitch. Once we reach the top we let our hands down, the birthday person stops and opens their eyes. Whoever they see first in the circle has to begin the process of briefly stating why they like the birthday person. The honored then turns to each person in the circle to receive confirmation, love, and encouragement from friends and family. This is meant to move the honored to tears. Tears both for confronting such intimate truths and tears for the sorrow of so many birthdays gone that didn't have half the heart of this one. It's the same moment, we just approach it differently. When the circle is finished, there is a big group hug. The moment leaves us renewed and has us looking forward to trying the same thing at the next birthday party they attend.
What separates us from history repeating itself, is the conscious application of rituals that give our lives context to the world we inhabit now.
I don't know if anyone will actually try the birthday thing but I do know that all of you are consciously applying a new ritual around time.
It might be the most low-effort ritual possible as it only requires you to glance at it every now and then.
And every now and then, I hope it's able to show you a different side of time.
With gratitude and joy,
Scott Thrift
January 10th, 18
Space and Time
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Nov 27, 2017 at 12:12:31 AM
Do these look ridiculous to you or is it just right?
Or is it just right because it's ridiculous?
I mean, I know this next one looks ridiculous but it is on purpose.
On Thanksgiving, I moved into a new space. This is the fourth space during the timespan of this project.
this is the before - I don't have the after yet
The entire project has been processed to the point where it now only fills a 24' truck to the brim.
Yesterday, after organizing the room and making space, I took some photographs of the finished timepieces.
The shoot lasted from here
to here.
Inspired by the new packaging I lit each timepiece in a controlled environment against black fabric backdrop. Space was made in each composition for room to superimpose distant stars as a backdrop. It is only natural to have stars, but how does it make you feel?
Does this next one, for instance, look cartoonish in a bad way or a good way?
Would this be laughed off the digital pages of Design Milk?
I'm hoping it brings some fun and humor to the grandiose ambitions of Time in Color.
SHIPPING DETAILS
Here are the facts to my best estimates:
293 Americans are waiting for TODAY. You will be getting shipping notices in the next two weeks.
You can nowvisittimeincolor.com for more current updates on progress. I don't want to have to make a far-reaching Kickstarter update unless I have significant news. Here is the significant news.
All 264 International supporters who expected a single TODAY, you should have them now or in the next week!
All backers who expect (2 x TODAY) there are 45 preorders like yours in total. Box number 26/45 is on the pallet. The double boxes weigh 6kg and are 15x15x10 inches. They will all be picked-up on December 1st and ship the end of the following week.
Twenty-five of the forty-five 2xTODAY boxes for international backers are also expecting 1xThePresent. These will be sent in two separate packages and may or may not arrive at the same time. As always, a tracking number will be sent to your email address to notify any package that is on its way.
There are 17 people waiting on ThePresent as a Desk Clock. There are also 07 people waiting on ThePresent Desk Clock for the Southern Hemisphere. These will all ship in mid-December and that will wrap up the OPEN* style clocks.
Taken on 11.18 at 5:40 Half of this is now complete
If you get an address confirmation email more than once please forgive it as I am being extra careful not to have returns as they come with a large additional fee from the shipping facility to process.
Again, I am not putting shipping labels on these boxes. My job is to get them to the shipping facility safe and as soon as it is possible. The items become a part of an inventory and then I send you an address confirmation email. After two days where you are able to change your address, I upload a detailed spreadsheet of everybody's name, address, country etc and the system takes over.
I don't know who made this but it is watercolor and it is extraordinary
The last time I sent an update I was painfully frustrated with the fact that the project has been delayed to the point where I am forced to rush it all into place at great costs for which I no longer have resources to handle.
A few people reached out and one of them sent me $500. On the day that happened, I had just heard the $627 price it would cost to have a shipping company grab the pallets of inventory. I had already turned down the $627 offer as I felt it was just too much of a stretch and decided I would drive them out to the shipping facility myself again. Having the extra capital gave me the confidence to move forward and order the pick-up of all six pallets.
And once you start "thinking-in-pallets" you can't go back.
Part of my frustration and yes, let's face it, desperation, on the last update was that I was highly aware of why I am in the position I am in. As I am wrapping and packing I'm traveling back in time and then retracing my steps to find out precisely why I'm still trying to finish. A lot of the pressure in my attitude was coming from the vendors who want to continue making more clocks. But as I'm wrapping them up, a whole year after I expected to be wrapping them, I can see hindsight so clearly. I remember being excited in July 2016 that I would have some "close to finished samples" in October with the first 500 ready for assembly in December 2016.
As you well know, the samples did not come in October, they arrived in December and between you and I they had promise, but I was in shock at how far it seemed they still had to go.
After apologizing on video to over 65 backers and promising that it would ship in March, by the end of January several of the vendors had fixed one problem and created three others. That went on until late May. The clocks were not produced until August and the first batch of 90 cartons arrived on September 10th. Add to the delays the fact that 6/10 assembled clocks need to be reassembled to be presentable and you start to wonder why you would ever consider working with those vendors ever again.
Nevertheless, the pressure to order more clocks became deafening. Part of why we have to examine each clock is to be recompensated somehow by getting credit for every clock we have to open up as that means I paid twice for assembly.
Luckily or unfortunately I can't tell, the budget ran out about three weeks ago and it forced the issue. I am happy with the finished product but I cannot, in good conscience continue to work with most of the key vendors that made this project a reality.
I knew that I was going to regret it if I did ask for help and regret it if I did not ask for help. It took a few days for the absurdity and embarrassment of it all to settle in after posting. The incredulous voice in my head sounded something like this, "Here is a guy who asks for $24,000 and gets $284,000 and now he has the gall to ask for more help? When there are natural disasters and war and homelessness this guy wants another $20,000 ?! How about I give you $20,000 in wooden nickles you selfish artist."
Something like that.
I take comfort in the knowledge that no one could as creatively crush my spirit in the unique way I do myself all the time. Sure, I heard that feeling loop around in the days after posting.
Was that sentiment experienced by one of 1500 watching me do the 'beg' part of the three-act play Beg, Borrow, Steal? Almost certainly. Does it matter? Almost certainly not. Yes, it's a bit uncouth but I believe I would have regretted it more if I didn't challenge myself to be honest about the circumstances. I was already beginning to feel that I wasn't sharing enough of what is actually happening because I've chosen to shield you from the grief.
Like anything that is worth doing, this project has been hit by so many surprise costs that I'm no longer surprised at the costs. Having a number like $284,000 online makes doing business with people even more complicated than it usually is.
Can you imagine going into business with someone and before starting any conversations you show them your bank account? That is exactly what it's like to manage a successful Kickstarter project. People think you've won the lottery. In my case, I undersold the clocks at such low prices that I cut my own hamstrings before running a marathon. I've lost a total of 30 lbs in the past 6 months and I was a pretty skinny guy to start with. I simply don't have an appetite, all I can think of is delivering at any cost. My temper is short, my default is selfishness in service of the goal and I miss who I used to be before all of this madness. Even typing this, feels like I should be packaging instead. When I'm sleeping I'm dreaming of packing the clocks onto the pallets.
My contingency was being able to sell through the remaining clocks. A part of me wishes I would have refrained from asking for help and just held my horses until I was ready to begin pre-orders and ready to ship sales again. But I decided to confront the issue instead of hiding and waiting to see.
CONTEXT
What was weird about me asking for help was that I removed the context from that video. It was me talking clearly for 18 minutes. After wanting to post the full eighteen-minute clip, I quickly decided to chop it up into bits so that people might watch it.
I think I am going to get all of these clocks out by mid-December. I wound up getting a small business loan to cover the costs of shipping the clocks and staff to help complete it all. If I can sell the inventory I have left in the next few months, I may have a chance to break even. In fact, the day this clock project from 2012 makes its first debt-free dollar, is a day I will consider a major milestone.
I'm growing something here that has the potential to help people form healthier relationships with time and therefore with each other. In speaking to you over the past year here, I've been a little unsure what the dynamic is between us and so I wanted to test the water. I wanted to know if anyone is out there who wanted to get more involved. I asked for the actual amount I need to close the project was a way of revealing the level of magnitude at play here. My instinct was that if I was a Kickstarter backer of this project and I had the means to help this art project excel, to make a difference in the world in a fun way, I would reach out to me and see if there is something I can do to help. I was trying to call forward anyone out there who is watching and wants to get more involved, that was it.
Everyone who backed this project has my back, you're the backers! And I'm sorry if I put you in an uncomfortable position of wanting to say you 'have my back' but not being able to give more than you already have. It was not thought through completely and sent in haste.
I didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable by bringing up money and worse, by asking for more of it on top of what was initially raised. However, I believe in the long-term benefit and viability of this idea. I have borrowed capital to complete these projects in the past, I've made good on those loans and before going into the land of high-interest loans, it didn't seem too strange to turn to you first.
I did think it was possible to make this happen so much sooner and with so much more grace. I trusted someone, who trusted someone who let us both down. As of Wednesday, November 22nd I will no longer be working with that team.
As soon as I get these timepieces delivered I am going to figure out what is next.
I would like to know what you think about using the stars in the main photography. Is it good? Bad? In between? It won't need to be the permanent motif but it would be helpful to stick to a particular voice over the next 24 months or so. If you saw this on your favorite design blog would laugh at it, with it or just think, hmmm I don't know or I like it!
When I got home late last night I made this piece of audio. It is just some fun theatrical thingI did to remind myself of the bigger picture. Not required listening.
It's some sort of allegory where the train = time as we know it, time in black and white and the hills = TODAY and the mountains = ThePresent.
Thank you, I know I am hard on myself, I don't know how else to be. I would love to learn how to not be so hard on myself and I'll look into it as soon as this thing is complete. I wish there was a class called "How to not be so hard on yourself."
I hope you aren't being too hard on yourself and these timepieces bring some much needed space to your time.
