Wher Wendell Castle's The Ghost Clock

The “Ghost Clock” is a fascinating piece of artwork, done by the modern sculptor and furniture maker Wendell Castle. While the piece may appear to just be a grandfather clock covered with a sheet, it is actually one whole piece. The Ghost Clock is completely made of mahogany. To achieve the look of a sheet draped over a clock, Castle had to bleach the wood multiple times in order to strip it of all its natural color, seen on the bottom of the sculpture. This is part of what makes the piece so interesting. Castle was able to take a hardwood and make it look as soft and supple as a cotton sheet. He carved all of the folds and shadows to obtain a fabric-like look. Wendell Castle has lived and worked in various places throughout the country, often creating pieces based upon where in the United States he was living. Castle grew up in Kansas, however he did much of his artwork while living in New York. Although the exact location where Ghost Clock was created is unknown, it can be assumed that Castle created the sculpture in New York, …show more content…
The series of pieces which Ghost Clock is a part of consists of clocks that actually function and clocks that are simply for show. Ghost Clock is one of the pieces which is purely for show. Some may question this decision by Castle, why create a sculpture that looks like a clock covered in a sheet, when it’s really just a piece of carved mahogany? The answer is that during this time period, Castle was experimenting with a type of illusion called trompe l’oeil. Translated into English, trompe l’oeil means to deceive the eye, which Castle did excellently with his piece Ghost Clock. Although the art style of trompe l’oeil has been used since the early 1800s, it became very popular during the 20th century, especially during the 1980s, which was the decade that Ghost Clock was created, specifically the year