“Walter Benjamin quotes reports that during the Paris Commune, in all corners of the city of Paris there were people shooting at the clocks on the towers of the churches, palaces and so on, thereby consciously or half-consciously expressing the need that somehow time has to be arrested; that at least the prevailing, the established time continuum has to be arrested, and that a new time has to begin – a very strong emphasis on the qualitative difference and on the totality of the rupture between the new society and the old.” Liberation from the Affluent Society, Herbert Marcuse (1967)
Action
Due to a mis-reading of the above text, I imagined hundreds of revolutionaries “shouting at clocks”, and would therefore like to propose this as a collective performative action at the March for the Alternative on the 26th.
An invitation will be sent out on Twitter to shout at clocks in iconic locations, such as Trafalgar Square (which incidentally has already stopped), at Big Ben and indeed throughout the UK. Follow AIR and update your own actions using the tag #AIRmarch26
The phrase we will collectively shout is TIME TO STOP!
This action will be performed on the hour throughout the day between 11am and 5pm.
Please read the original call-out here.
Joseph Young : Artist 