Seth Thomas Clock (?) c. 1940

J. Herman McCollum made this clock out of watercolor, and it really captures something about time, memory, and process, doesn't it? I'm drawn to the way McCollum renders the wood grain, these delicate, almost shivering lines. You can feel the hand of the artist here, each stroke deliberate, yet the overall effect is loose and dreamy. The color palette is muted, earthy tones that evoke a sense of nostalgia. It’s like the clock is emerging from a sepia-toned photograph, a relic from a bygone era. Look closely at the clock face, particularly at the rendering of the hands. They are slightly out of alignment and off center, the details of the mechanism are visible and this imperfection lends the piece a human quality. The clock isn’t just an object; it’s a character with its own story to tell. It reminds me a little of Florine Stettheimer, who also made everyday objects strange and interesting in her paintings. It’s like McCollum is saying that art, like time, is a fluid and subjective experience, it is always open to interpretation and change.