Zeitfeld / Time Field

Klaus Rinke created Zeitfeld / Time Field when the Düsseldorf Volkpark was being redesigned for the 1987 Landesgartenschau. The installation consists of twenty-four station clocks on tall supports. The field of four by six clocks transports the viewer to a surreal scene. All of the clocks are accurate, as they are connected to the Braunschweig atomic clock. Here, it becomes abundantly clear that time does not stand still – even while viewing art: it is impossible to observe all of the clocks at the same time. In turn, some amount of time will have always elapsed when the viewer looks from one clock or group of clocks to another. This fact may remind the observer that life is finite and irrevocably fades away, or of German punctuality, which guarantees impeccable operation. Either way, Klaus Rinke was the son of a freight train loadmaster and spent his childhood around train stations. He developed a penchant for these clearly designed time indicators at an early age and created a thought-provoking monument to them here.