Keeping Real Time at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport.

As modern humans, we literally and figuratively live and die by the fourth dimensional concept of time. And nowhere on Earth, as we know it, is that statement truer than at airports, where a delayed arrival or departure can set off a calamitous chain reaction for paying customers lugging both literal and figurative baggage to and fro. Unsurprisingly, timepieces abound at every turn whether it’s with digital clocks and screens or the traditional mechanics of minute and second hands ticking away. That said, what is the next step in terms of innovation for expressing this universal and practical concept? Maybe there isn’t yet a definitive answer within grasp, but we believe a starting point may lie in the performance art piece outlined below at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

Maarten Baas, a prolific and playful Dutch art designer known for blurring conventional lines with installations and performances at places like MoMa, Les Arts Decoratifs and the San Francisco Museum of Art, was commissioned by the Netherlands’ premier international hub, and Europe’s third largest airport overall, to essentially reinvent the clock for one of its main terminals. Baas has basically made it appear as if he is stuck inside a massive steel box suspended from the airport’s ceiling—doomed to forever draw and then erase the hands of a giant clock as time moves forward.

Although it was originally created in 2009 for Milan Design Week, this installation has confounded many an onlooker, not to mention online audiences. In reality, they’re all watching a 12-hour video loop. However, this shouldn’t diminish the fact that this feat initially required a flawless performance in real time. One only needs to check out Baas’ website for proof of his commitment to irreverent and self-aware presentations. But, for those that don’t have the time, simply check out the video below for a closer look and quick overview of the “Schiphol Clock.