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All the Netherlands Rotterdam Sweepers Clock
AO Edited

Sweepers Clock

The hands on this clock appear to be created by two workers sweeping debris into careful positions.

Rotterdam, Netherlands

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CoolCrab
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About

Clocks are an essential part of society, hanging in most homes, workplaces, in our pockets, and around our wrists. This makes clocks a prime target for art, and they happen to be a specialty of Dutch artist Maarten Baas.

The Sweepers Clock is a top-down 12-hour recording of two men in overalls walking around in a circular area, sweeping a pile of trash into two lines that come to be the clock's hands. They move the trash each minute in order to adjust the clock hands to give the right time. The clock hangs in the Erasmus University Medical Center, and you can see a video of it in action here.

This clock is part of Baas's "Real Time" series. It includes three other clocks, one of which hangs in Schiphol Airport and features a man in blue overalls painting the clock hands each minute.

Related Tags

Astounding Timepieces Time Art Clocks

Know Before You Go

The clock is freely accessible. It hangs in the main lobby of the hospital, just left of the escalators.

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Added By

CoolCrab

Published

March 6, 2023

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  • https://www.artic.edu/artworks/204455/real-time-sweepers-clock
Sweepers Clock
15 Zimmermanweg
Rotterdam, 3015 CP
Netherlands
51.910897, 4.468394
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Photo of Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Netherlands

Places 38
Stories 4

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Schoonoord Historical Garden

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Netherlands

Places 38
Stories 4

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