LIHU’E-The time on a wrist watch may have read 4:15, but the time showing on 24 clocks mounted on the west wall of the main lobby in the Lihu’e Airport appeared to be showing a reading closer to 10:32. “It
LIHU’E-The time on a wrist watch may have read 4:15, but the time showing on 24 clocks mounted on the west wall of the main lobby in the Lihu’e Airport appeared to be showing a reading closer to 10:32.
“It is 22 minutes before the 21st hour,” explained Parker Croft, one of the designers of the “Time for One World” piece now on display at the airport. The piece is made up of 24 similar clocks, each labelled with a location from around the world, some crypted in the native writing of its country.
But unlike other world time displays that show the time in different global locales, these clocks reflect a singular reading-22 minutes before the 21st hour.
Croft, a professor of architecture at the Middlebury College in Vermont, and Michelle Rose and her family were on hand Friday afternoon to dedicate the second of 24 planned installations of “Time for One World.”
As the mind grapples with the concept, it is aided by a rhythmic ‘thum-thump; thum-thump’ which, upon closer examination, emanates from a speaker system marking the boundaries of the 24-clock display.
Cueing in on the rhythmic pattern, the second hand on each of the 24 clock faces moves in unison, in step with the beat that is interrupted at times by the blare of flight arrival or departure information, but always resurfaces once the din subsides.
“The clocks have identical 24-hour faces and appear to be generic,” Croft says of the general display featuring timepieces crafted by Franklin Instruments of Philadelphia.
However, their second hands are precisely synchronized and are capable of being coordinated through the GPS satellite system. “The background sound is a human heartbeat,” Croft notes. “The heart rate is 60 beats per minutes, and is synchronized with the second hands.”
“This is a piece of art. It is being installed in multiple locations worldwide. Its next installation is scheduled for July 1 at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, in Northern Ireland,” Croft said.
“The time system represented is based on the 24-hour system used by the military as well as for computer and scientific work. This proposed system is referenced to the Spring and Fall equinoxes,” explained the architect who is currently working on building a home in Kilauea.
The time displayed on the Lihu’e Airport clocks is based on the next spring equinox which will occur at 9:17 a.m. on March 20.
“The moment of planetary equinox occurs simultaneously for every point on Earth,” Croft pointed out. “At that moment all clocks are set at 0:00 around the world.”
The Lihu’e Airport site, secured through the cooperation of Airport District Manager Stan Sekimoto and his staff, is unique in that it represents one of 24 equal segments that divide the globe’s circumference. One destination from each of these segments marked in 15 degrees will be the home for a similar display.
Croft explained that the year is not precisely 365 days long. “In fact, it is slightly more than 365 1/4 days. The calendar is corrected by adding a day every four years which is Leap Year Day on February 29.”
No leap year adjustment is required under a proposal by Croft who says that “Instead of that additional day, a 3-hour holiday will occur each Spring and Fall to celebrate human relationships.”
Croft said this day will be observed differently in the world’s different locales, as local people feel is most appropriate.
“This is the Time to mend our fences, end arguments, stop wars, forgive wrongs, renew friendships, visit family, and extend a generous heart,” Croft said. “These periods will be making ‘Time for One World.”
Croft said the premise is a simple one, “We are sharing this life and this planet with many other beings. What happens in one part of the world affects all of us, however subtly. We are together on a fragile and beautiful planet that beats with a single heart. We must make time for one world if we are to survive the demands of this new millenium.”
The project was funded in part through the efforts of The Sound Source of Middlebury, Vermont, and the Vermont Arts Endowment Fund.
For a more in-depth explanation, Croft maintains two signs on either side of the display that explains the choice of global locations, and further discussions on “Time for One World.”
A postcard touting a singular clock face from the overall display is also available, and on it is the website address www.parkercroft.com where interested people can get more information.
TGI staff photographer, Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681, Ext. 253 or e-mail mailto:dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
