Key facts

Product:
Just in Time clock
Manufacturer:
Phillips
Architonic ID:
4109498
Launched:
1986
Country:
United States
Category:
Devices

Product description

Melamine board, twigs, wool yarn, nylon string.
20 1/2 x 14 1/2 x approx. 3 in. (52.1 x 36.8 x approx. 7.6 cm)

Kuramata had a talent for using vacancy as a creative tool. As seen in the “Just In Time” clock, his dematerialized and surreal designs mix Bauhaus theories of simplicity with his modern, Eastern cultural perspective. "Just in time was designed for 'Clocks by 31 Artists' held at the Matsuya Design Gallery in 1986. For the hour hand of the first clock, Kuramata pulled out of his pocket some twigs that looked like something he'd found while walking, and for the second hand he used some kind of bristle (what could they be?), experimenting repeatedly so that when the hands moved they would create a gentle arc. The clock was like a free-forming picture, changing according to the time it showed. Kuramata was very fond of this clock and, for a long while, liked to have one near him."(Shiro Kuramata 1934-1991, exh. cat., p. 78)

Literature:
Shiro Kuramata 1934-1991, exh. cat., Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1996, pp. 70 and 181