34 Years: A Day in NYC on my Birthday
My siblings and my husband arrived at the Museum of Modern Art just after 1:30pm on an unusually balmy Saturday. We had just stepped out from a lovely brunch at 44 X Hell’s Kitchen. We had learned about The Clock exhibit from CBS Sunday Morning, a variety news program, a month ago and thought it was a unique idea. After strolling through some other art galleries, we stepped into the dark theater. It was an interesting experience, like we were walking into a movie already in progress.
Created by Christian Marclay in 2010, it is a 24-hour motion picture, encapsulating over one hundred years of cinema and television footage, which are bonded together with the depiction of various clocks. It collapses the fictional time presented on screen with the actual time of each passing minute, so all filmgoers always know the current time. It is a paradoxical feeling, for sure. According to the artist’s biography on the MoMa website, “Christian Marclay has devoted his career to exploring the processes of transformation that render the immaterial into a concrete and saleable commodity. He states, ‘I’m constantly dealing with the contradiction between the material reality of the art object as a thing and its potential immateriality’.”
Time is relative. The seasons are always changing, the flowers constantly retreating and blooming. Nature continues its relentless pursuit of change, constantly evolving. And our human tool of a clock is just one of many ways to measure the passage of time. That is what makes the brilliantly executed exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, called The Clock, so unique. Especially as I celebrated my 34th birthday.
Just prior to 1:55pm, we saw the face of Tobey Mcguire on a moped, with a dozen pizzas in tow. He glances at the clock, before the video changes to another movie clip. Later on, at 2:07 and 2:20, we are shown Tobey’s displeased face as he realizes he did not deliver the pizza in under 30 minutes and is subsequently fire from his pizza delivery job. For those that are unaware, the clips are from the Spiderman film from 2004, but no mention of the famed masked superhero was mentioned.
Around 2:15, the images Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, from the film that shares his character’s name, is seeing destroying a room full of clocks; even persuading to use young Jack's, played by Charlie Korsmo, anger at his father to smash clocks. His father, if you aren’t familiar with the movie, is the grown-up version of the famous Peter Pan. A minute later, actor Ed Wynn was heard saying, “When the clock stop’s ticking, I’ll die,” from a 1963 episode of the Twilight Zone, with a time shown on the grandfather clock in the background.
There were many moments with no dialog. A shot of Philadelphia City Hall, with its clock showing 2:05, Charlie Chapman hanging from the face of a rooftop clock, actor Paul Giamatti eating lunch alone at a diner at 2:25, or actor Peter Dinklage waking up on train tracks before looking at his watch. It was a very meditating experience to watch a variety of clips from a century of media, lovingly edited in surprising ways. And for anyone that is able to make their way to see it at other times of day, it will be a different amalgamation of clips to witness.
After venturing out of the theater, we traversed the rest of the multi-story museum with other unique exhibits. One of them was very strange, curated by Mike Kelley: a color-sorted collection of stuffed animals suspended from the ceiling. It was rather interesting, including the artist’s description of them: an adult’s perfect model of a child; cute, clean, sexless. He even made sure to avoid eliciting too much of an emotional response by turning the faces inwards, though I doubt that would make a difference given the absurdity of walking into a room full of stuffed animals hanging from a wire.
Another exhibit was from Montien Boonma, titled House of Hope. It featured a wrap-around painting that suggested clouds or incense smoke from Buddhist temples that surrounded thousands of prayer-bead strands. The smell when we entered was therapeutic though overpowering at times. On a different more Western exhibit, Micheal Smith’s Government Approved Home Fallout Shelter Snack Bar allows visitors to step back in time to the 1980’s. It featured a living room that could be transformed into a bomb shelter, though survival was not likely.
For a more modern take on a children’s playground, Helen and Hard Stangeland from Norway recreated depictions of Geopark, a play area built in 2009 that transforms redundant materials from the petroleum industry into a vibrant public space. It was shown in proximity to Andres Jaque’s exhibit from the Office for Political Innovation in Spain from 2022. Jaque’s design was constructed from a rehabilitated landfill that reimagines a school or work environment.
After heading toward the ground level of the museum, we relaxed at the gorgeous courtyard, sipping on some canned sparkling water, discussing what to do next in our adventures in NYC. Our next plan, given the weather, was a long stroll to the Harry Potter NYC Store on Broadway and 22nd for a celebration Butterbeer. By the time we got there, we were dripping of sweat, as the unusually high temperatures and the tall skyscrapers around caused a dense urban heat effect. By the time we entered the air-conditioned store, ordered our Butterbeers (and some cake), and sat down, we were exhausted.
After browsing the three floors of the wonderfully decorated stop filled with tons of experiences and merchandise, we ventured to a Shake Shack across the street in the local park. By that time, the high temperatures of the day began to subside, causing the air to get chilly and the wind to pick up speed. To save time after a light dinner, my siblings and I took a Lyft back to the Marquis Theater to see the new Stranger Things Broadway play. My husband ventured in the opposite direction to catch up with an old friend that lived in Brooklyn. (He doesn’t like the horror genre)
I wrote about this exceptional play in another post, but in a word, marvelous. The play encapsulated the playfulness of school-age kids, the tense drama of deadly situations, and the otherworldly mystical elements infecting the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Titled “The First Shadow”, it reveals more of the story of the Creel family as the son, Henry, develops unusual powers. Eventually garnering the interest of the U.S. Government. It is certainly for mature audiences, with many jump scares, horrific depictions of dead bodies, and some language. But it is a brilliant play that takes stagecraft to next levels.
The show was performed in the Marquis Theatre, which had been used for a variety of shows in the past couple years, from Elf the Musical in 2024, Peter Pan in 1998, and Beetlejuice in 2022. It is situated in a Marriott Hotel, which was also the same hotel that my family had stayed in 18 years ago during the Christmas season. It is wild to think how much life has changed in almost 20 years, both personally and in society. At the time, Netflix streaming had only just begun, but it took nine years before the release of Stranger Things in 2016. Smartphones were only just becoming mainstream with the release of the iPhone that summer. The United States was on the verge of electing the first African American for President the following year. Time is constantly changing and evolving, and you never know what will unfold.
Once the show ended, we headed to Valerie, a 1920’s-themed bar, to find Michael and our friend, Alex, relaxing with some cocktails. After chatting for a bit, we hugged and headed in separate directions: Michael and I to the subway, heading to Staten Island to stay with our friend August, my sister and brother to the parking garage, headed back to South Jersey, and Alex, headed back to his home in Brooklyn. On our late-night ride on the Staten Island Ferry, we enjoyed listening to the trivial drama from fellow New Yorkers after their night in the city.
The following day, we rested our legs and enjoyed tea, scones, and good conversations with August and his boyfriend, Matt, before starting the trek back to upstate New York. It was a lovely weekend full of family, friends, and great experiences. As I embark on the next year of my life, I am eternally grateful for the strength of myself, and the incredible support of everyone around me, to stay alive and work on fostering an improved and more resilient sense of self. Even overcoming the anxieties and uncertainties of running for local public office in Glens Falls.
I don’t know how this year will unravel, but I know that it will be filled with new experiences, some tough moments, many conversations, and a greater sense of community. While the political changes in the coming years may be unnerving, we all need to remain positive and learn to listen to others. The political divide has remained a constant for too long. It takes each one of us to start to break down the walls of division through kindness and empathy. We all matter.
