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"Clock" Ticks Again

Installation view of Christian Marclay's The Clock, 2010. LACMA, purchased with funds provided by Steve Tisch through the 2011 Collectors Committee
In the months after its Oct. 2010 premiere in London, Christian Marclay's The Clock—a 24-hour-long supercut of vintage film and TV clips showing the time—was praised to the skies by art and film critics. It was no less a popular sensation, with long queues for screenings on both coasts. LACMA acquired The Clock (one of an edition of six) in 2011 and showed it in 2011, 2012, and 2015. Now 11 years have passed, and there's a rising generation that hasn't seen it. Is The Clock a monument to late-aughts nostalgia or something truly timeless? L.A. audiences will have a chance to judge this summer, as LACMA has just announced new showings. 

Two full 24-hour screenings start at 7 PM on July 25 and Aug. 22, 2026. Tickets are now available. The Clock will also run during regular museum hours between those dates. Note that a ticket does not guarantee immediate admission, and lines are expected at popular times. The Clock will be on the ground floor of BCAM (not the Geffen), and a ticket will include full museum admission. 
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Artist said…
I was with Marclay at the premier of "Clock" at MOMA in December 2012 and it was a fun time. Since then, I watched the lines form at LACMA and was surprised by the public's voracious response. Prior to 2012, I was working with the artist Tracy Moffatt who had been making similar video works. She compiled found footage that was meticulously edited and released as limited editions around 100 as opposed to Marclay's 6 editions of "Clock". The response was favorable, but Moffatt's work never skyrocketed the same way that Marclay had. In 2016, Arthur Jafa released his version of edited found footage titled "Love is the Message, The Message is Death", to critical attention and wide popularity. He limited the editions to 13 and 2 APs.
June 25, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Anonymous said…
> Clock will be on
> the ground floor
> of BCAM (not
> the Geffen)

Whew. When I saw the listing posted by the museum, I was wondering if the film would be shown in any of the various sections of the Geffen currently showing plenty of blank walls or way too much open floor space. In particular, the area reserved for performance art.

The section of the 1st floor of the Broad building with the Serra steel sculpture is surrounded by plenty of blank wall space. I've always wondered if those walls could be used for other art objects without looking cluttered.

I recall even certain blank walls in the old Ahmanson Gallery that looked like they could have been used for canvases or tapestries, etc.

However, the problem with LACMA is they have more space than art in their collections to fill it with. In both 1965 and 2026 (trumpet sound: "wah, wah , wah"). I like to think that's sarcasm, but maybe not really.
June 25, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Anonymous said…
I thought about The Clock from the LACMA collection when the David Geffen galleries opened. Where are they going to exhibit inside the DVG?
Now it's at the Resnick, but I have a feeling we're going to see The Clock at some point in the DVG building being shown on the concrete wall, street park level.
As a film lover love this work very much.
June 25, 2026 at 9:57 AM
William Poundstone said…
The Geffen has a Steve Tisch Theatre—named for the film producer and donor of The Clock—that is to open this fall. This is ground level, in the southernmost pillar south of Wilshire.
June 25, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Anonymous said…
> being shown on the
> concrete wall, street
> park level.

https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D5622AQEg5Q7O5lg5sA/feedshare-shrink_800/B56Z5qPBb0JsAg-/0/1779898783712?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=BTQWV62TSEoWOWGRX-sTW6nekKUj-e6-n1tdMAzfITM

Why Govan and LACMA commissioned a work by Diana Thater when something they already own could have been projected against the same wall is due to what?. Or would The Clock screened on the outside ground floor wall of the Geffen violate certain legal stipulations or be opposed by Marclay?

If not, it makes me think of an excuse LACMA might use to claim they don't have enough wall and floor space for Art Object A or Art Object B. Or claiming that in spite of using existing square footage so indulgently.

And that's not even dealing with the idea that moveable wall units should be set up in front of some of the Geffen's windows.
June 25, 2026 at 12:05 PM
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