1994

U.A.B. Bellaterra, Barcelona

Two clocks are located on a beam at the entrance to the building of the Universitat Autònoma de Bellaterra. The first of the two is 15 minutes slow regarding the real time of day. The second clock, which is on time, is turned 90 degrees on its side. Next to the two clocks are the vinyl letters that read RETARD ASSISTIT 15’ (Assisted Delay 15’).

In this piece of Vacca’s there is a direct reference to the place where it is located, the university. A reference to the students – the spectators of whom the artist requests a quarter of an hour of their time (the delay of the first clock). The spectators, who merely see that that the clock does not say the same time as their watches, are reticent to stop their time. Vacca answers this resistance by forcing them to delay their watches 15’, just 15’. By setting the second clock on real time but inclining it 90 degrees to the left he obliges the spectators to stop, if for no other reason than to think about their own personal time.

Moreover, next to the two clocks, the artist has recourse to language, a much more familiar code to the spectators, and tells them what he expects of them, explaining that he himself has had to assist them to have those thoughts.

Inasmuch as the piece calls for the spectators’ attention, making a demand on their time, it is reminiscent of Bruce Nauman’s pieces “Pay Attention” (1973) and “Please / Pay / Attention / Please” (1973), in which the artist not only requests their attention and plays with their curiosity, but provokes them by putting the letters upside-down.

Written by Pietat Sanjuán for the catalogue TERRA. U.A.B. 1994