When it was first screened, Christian Marclay’s film collage of clocks—called The Clock, released in 2010—drew crowds that galleries and museums rarely see. Now said to be the most popular video art installation ever, it continues to attract long lines at screenings around the globe. In darkened exhibition theaters, people sit bunched together to watch the stitched scenes of timepieces pulled from thousands of movies—for a full 24-hours. And, the film can be synchronized with the time it’s played: When a watch appears on screen and reads, say, 4:05, it will be 4:05 for the audience, too. The movie, thus, becomes a working clock.
Marclay’s follow up, Doors, which took ten years to make, interrogates another fundamental household object: the door. First released in 2022, the film debuted at the Centre Pompidou, in Paris, and is currently on a tour that includes a stop at the Brooklyn Museum, where it opens to the public on June 12th.
Christian Marclay. Doors (still), 2022. ©ChristianMarclay. Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
In Doors, the thrill is in the expectation viewers place on the appearance of a door on screen. “Doors are fascinating objects, rich with symbolism,” Marclay has said. “They can hide or reveal, express opposites of light or dark, exterior or interior, open or closed… They are commonplace, yet unfamiliar. We find ourselves wondering what is on the other side, where we may end up. There is fear and anxiety we associate with the unknown, but also anticipation and potential.”
The clips, culled from a range of sources, from indie films to blockbuster hits (silent as well as black and white movies), show doors in action: a key in a keyhole, a hand on a handle; the swing of a door as it’s opened or closed. And just before the clip reveals whatever drama intended by its source, Marclay’s Doors flips to a new door, a new scene, and a new movie. And so the door becomes visual punctuation.
Sound is also part of the story. Some clips feature dialogue, others foley art. Soundscapes that accompany each clip merge to create subtle tension.
Christian Marclay. Doors (still), 2022. ©ChristianMarclay. Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Played on a loop, this hour-long video installation will be on view to the public starting June 12 at the Brooklyn Museum. Details and ticket information here.
