Clock Case c. 1936

This technical drawing for a clock case was made with ink on paper by John Dieterich. You can see the different elements of the clock case design: the clock itself, various ornamental flourishes, and the elegant overall structure of the clock. I feel for Dieterich laboring over this drawing, trying to capture the essence of time through the depiction of its container. The level of detail in those ornamental flourishes. You can almost see him hunched over, squinting, trying to get every line just right. He uses hatching to suggest volume, giving us a sense of the final product. The way the clock is presented, disassembled into its component parts, laid bare for our scrutiny, it reminds me of the way painters break down the world into colors, lines, and shapes. We, too, try to understand it piece by piece. I think that’s what Dieterich was up to as well.