Michael Bell-Smith

American (b. 1978)

Waves Clock

2012

Custom software

Museum purchase with funds donated by Hazel and William Hough

2013.12

Waves Clock is a projection generated by a custom software program, and references the format of a desktop screensaver. The images of bright blue ocean waves and generic white analog clock each address the cycles of time–both natural and mechanical–but are visually disjointed to an almost comical degree.

The rolling waves hint at Romantic landscape painting, but the banality of the clock undermines any sublime effect. It is difficult to focus on either one of these images without being distracted by the other–a fitting reflection on our media-saturated times.

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