The physical presence of The Watch is of a 10’ diameter pocketwatch partially embedded in the playa surface at a 25 degree angle, as if dropped long ago from a long gone work bench. The pocketwatch itself is surrounded by a miscellany of gears of a similar presumed origin. The back of the pocketwatch is missing, exposing the gears in the interior.
The look and feel of all of the pieces will be of raw wood and aged ornate metal. Most wood surfaces will remain unpainted, and contrasting wood grains will be used for effect. Portions of the zoetropes and watch face will be decorated with aged brass cut and textured using salt water etching to give the surfaces a rough texture. Drawings on the interior of the zoetropes will be in the style of scratchboard illustrations from old natural history texts.
Interaction Overview
Participants will be able to interact with The Watch in several ways:
- Hand-Powered Animation
Spinning the zoetropes will show short animations. Each zoetrope will have an accompanying soundtrack that will play while it is spinning.
- Participant Additions to Animations
Anyone will be able to add their own chalk drawings to the interior of the zoetropes.
- Powering the Clock
Spinning the zoetropes within the watch will provide power to run the hour, minute and second hands on the face of the watch. When power is low, participants will see a warning indicator encouraging them to spin the zoetropes to recharge the battery.
- Contributing Stories about The Watch
A notebook will be placed on a podium where participants can write their own stories about how the watch arrived on the playa. (A similar technique was successfully used at The Cave, here participants were asked to tell their own stories about figures from American folklore.)
- Social Space
Benches will be included around the piece, encouraging anyone to sit, rest and chat with
others as they stop in.
