Running Clock, Killermont Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 55° 51.904 W 004° 15.158
30U E 421606 N 6191771
Called the 'Running Clock' by Glaswegians it was commissioned by Radio Clyde in 2000.
Waymark Code: WMJ6EB
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/01/2013
Views: 15
One of two permanent Scul?tures in Glasgow by George Wyllie, the Running Clock was commissioned by Radio Clyde for 2000 to mark the radio station's 25th Anniversary as an independent local radio station, its association with the local Cowcaddens area of the city, and as a thank you to the city. It has achieved iconic status through its humour and bizarre subject matter, at 5m high it was inspired by the hustle and bustle of Buchanan Street bus station and is designed to act as a meeting point. Its official title is the Clyde Clock, Concert Square, Cowcaddens.
This modern sculpture of a square clock on top of running legs is located very appropriately outside Buchanan Bus Station on Killermont Street, where the sight of passengers racing to catch a bus is not unknown. The clock is 5m high and is covered in stainless steel. It was created by one of Glasgow’s favourite artists, George Willey, who is well known locally for his other idiosyncratic art works such as "The Straw Locomotive" which consisted of a full size steam locomotive, constructed from straw, and suspended from the Finnieston Crane as part of the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival. That sculpture was built in Springburn, a former centre for the manufacture of steam locomotives - and was ceremonially burnt back in Springburn after the Garden Festival closed. The Clyde Clock was intended to be installed in December 1999 in time for the Millennium - but construction work on the adjacent Lang's Hotel resulted in a postponement into the new year. The clock forms a focal point in Concert Square - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is just across the road. The clock was also intended to be a meeting place and chimes just once each day at 8pm - said to be the "ideal meeting time".
There are four clock faces, each a white face with black numerals and hands. The numerals are in a 'backwards italic' font. It has not been working for some time but now the local Labour MSP, Drew Smith, has asked Glasgow City Council to get the Clyde Clock running again. The MSP contacted the Council last year (2012) when friends and fans of its designer expressed concern that the well known local landmark had stopped ticking. Glasgow City Council have now confirmed (January 2013) that a clock repairer has been appointed, parts have been ordered, and work to fix the clock will begin soon. It was still not working when I visited it early August 2013.
The other permanent work by George Wyllie is the 'Monument to Maternity', a huge metal nappy pin, on the site of the former Rottenrow Maternity Hospital in Townhead.
George Ralston Wyllie MBE was born in Shettleston, in Glasgow's east end on 31st December, 1921, and grew up in Craigton, in the south west of the city. He was educated at Bellahouston Academy and Allan Glen's School later residing in Gourock. Before taking up art he worked as a customs officer and described himself as a "scul?tor". He produced a number of notable public works including the Straw Locomotive and the Paper Boat and was awarded the MBE in the New Years Honours List 2005. He died on 15th May, 2012. From Wikipedia.