In the heart of New York’s Flatiron District, across from the famous Flatiron Building, there lies a remarkably tall and elaborately designed street clock with a light-brownish golden-like color. In fact, this iconic clock is made of gilded cast iron, while the wreath of leaves around the face of the clock is gilded in gold. The layout of this unique structure is a base consisting of several rectangular prisms stacked on top of each other, holding up a long column which connects to the actual clock, akin to a giraffe’s disproportional neck connecting to his head. The face of the clock consists of three circles. The inner circle encloses the words “FIFTH AVENUE BUILDING,” indicating the clock’s location on New York’s most recognizable avenue. Twelve large, black roman numerals telling the time of day to passersby lie between the innermost and the second circle. The outermost circle frames the clock in a lace-like pattern. The words, arrows, numerals, and circles of the clock are all black, in contrast to their white background. Around the clock, there is a thin, golden ring-like shape, with what seems to be a nail on the outer corner of every numeral. Connecting to the column below it, the outside of the clock is decorated with oak leaves and acorns, which are common symbols of patience and strength in many cultures. The column resembles a typical Greek Ionic column, distinguishable by the two scrolls on its capital. The entire clock structure lies on a base in the shape of several rectangular prisms stacked on top of each other. The tallest rectangular prism has what looks like a door with a doorknob, as well as an inscription describing the history of the clock. 

The Fifth Avenue Building Street Clock fits Miwon Kwon’s art as a public space paradigm the best. This street clock was built in 1909 and designated a New York City landmark in 1981. In fact, it was restored by Tiffany & Co. as a gift to the historic Flatiron District after the company moved its headquarters to 200 Fifth Avenue in 2011. This work of art was built around the same time as 200 Fifth Avenue, which was called the Fifth Avenue Building at the time. It can be classified as art as a public space because it was deliberately created for the Madison Square Park neighborhood. More importantly, the clock serves an essential purpose: it is a clock that tells the time to passersby, and is thus useful to native New Yorkers and tourists alike. For decades, this clock has been an integrated symbol of the neighborhood alongside the Flatiron Building. Although this clock could technically serve the same purpose in any other location, I believe that it is an integral part of this specific site, because it serves as a distraction for everyone in such a hectic urban environment. The area is filled with workers of every profession rushing to get to their jobs or get a cup of coffee, and tourists feeling confused in such an overwhelming place. In my opinion, the clock’s enormous size inspires people to look at it, reminding everyone of the time and making the city feel a little more personal. It was also obviously more useful back in the day, before people had personal cell phones, but even today a passerby can know the time without looking at a watch or phone, which would be useful if someone doesn’t have access to them. Nevertheless, I think that this clock could be just as useful to any other crowded neighborhood of New York City, such as Midtown for example. As I viewed the art, neither the artist nor the funding body’s identity were visible. However, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference who built the clock, although it is definitely interesting to know who funded its construction. After doing more research, I discovered that the clock was built by a company called Hecla Iron Works and funded by the owners of the Fifth Avenue Building to stay in tone with their new office building in such a prominent location. 

On New York’s famous High Line, there is one unconventional clock that is more of a work of art than a clock. Instead of numbers to indicate the time, there are twelve capitalized letters that spell the word “organization.” In the center of the clock, there is a black gear-shaped circle with a smaller white circle inside it that holds the two arrows of the clock. The arrows are white with a black outline, and have a small arrow on one end and an unusual almost side-view head-like shape. The letters of the word “organization” are also black and are on a white background. Enclosing the letters, there is a black circle with another slightly larger circle right next to it. The outer circle has a total of 48 black triangles pointing outwards in pairs of two. The face of the clock is enclosed in a circular black frame, which connects to the base of the structure. Two black legs hold up the base and are screwed onto the tracks on the High Line. On both sides of the top of the base, there is a black cat with three long whiskers and pointy ears sitting facing away from the clock. The base of the clock is mostly back, but is outlined by small white dots all around. At the middle of the top of the base, there is a black trapezoid with a white outline and a white circle inside of it with a triangle pointing up above the circle. Inside the circle, there is the top half of a globe below two “W” letters with a star in the middle of them. Above, there are two stars, one to the left and one to the right of the letter “I”. To the left of the trapezoid, there is a white rectangle with the capitalized words “Organize Now” in black on two seperate lines. To the right of the trapezoid, there is a similar rectangle to the one on the left of the trapezoid, except with the words “Organize Right.” Below the trapezoid and two rectangles, there are the capitalized words “Time to Organize” in a bold white font, with the word “time” on the first line and the words “to organize” on the line below it. 

If I were to classify this clock as fitting one of Kwon’s three paradigms for public art, I would say that it is a form of “new genre public art.” After doing research about this work of art online, I learned that it was created by Ruth Ewan and is called “Silent Agitator.” Ewan researches various events in history related to activism and creates artwork based on them. As the website “High Line” states, “In both subject matter and approach, Ewan’s projects reveal the dignity and accessible reality of these discrete but profound social movements…Her understated style offers opportunities for learning about beautiful moments in the history of social resistance and the potential offered by alternative ways of thinking and organizing.” Ewan’s inspiration for her enormous clock on the High Line came from an illustration produced for the Industrial Workers of the World union, calling on workers to organize. This clock is a “new genre public art” because it serves as a reminder of the history behind the famous twentieth-century labor movement for better working conditions and shorter working hours. This art is certainly socially conscious and is meant to evoke emotions in the people that walk past it on the High Line. Furthermore, Ewan’s clock brings people both living in the community and passersby together to look at it and reflect on their life and the relevance of the IWW movement on workers’ rights, which in turn affected many people’s working conditions and lives today. The clock could really be anywhere else, but it is integrated well into the space in which it is situated, because of its placement where it is easily visible and the compatibility of the clock’s colors to its surrounding. Interestingly, when I first noticed and photographed the clock, I thought it was meant to motivate people to be organized in their daily lives, which is an important reminder in such a hectic city with such busy and stressed people. Nevertheless, when I read the true purpose of the clock, I realized that it is relevant to nearly everyone because the IWW movement and labor movements in general were a huge part of America’s history and the history of many other nations. Interestingly, this project was funded by various private donors, several foundations, and the New York city and state governments. However, this information was not visible as I viewed the art.

These two works of art are both large clocks in New York that the public can walk by any time they want and are actually visible from afar. Yet, there are several fundamental differences between the two clocks. The Fifth Avenue Building Street Clock is right next to the crosswalk of a crowded city street and has been an integral part of the Flatiron District for such a long time. Its main purpose is to tell the time and is thus highly practical, but it is definitely a lot fancier and ornate than the “Silent Agitator” clock on the High Line. Meanwhile, the “Silent Agitator” has more of a historical significance and is a reminder of the IWW and unions’ fight for workers’ rights and is meant to get people to ponder on its significance and relevance. Nevertheless, it is also a functioning clock and tells the time to passersby on the High Line, but in a more unique way. The Fifth Avenue clock fits in well in a wealthy neighborhood, while the High Line clock fits well in a less fancy place. In fact, it’s interesting that the clock is on former tracks, which can be an allusion to industry and labor, such as the labor related to the railroad industry of the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries. An interesting similarity between the two clocks is that both appeal to all types of people from around the world and around the city, especially since they have different histories and meanings but are geographically close to one another.