The Untimely Time Clock (Bing!)

Merely a little ink-and-aqua sketch, still conveying my feeling for the weird kind of apparatus known as the Clock Card Machine or Punch Clock for short. It can be seen whenever and wherever truly pointless activities take place -- as soon as you see something really silly going on, keep an eye open for the punch clock -- it might be hidden in the most weird places, behind the corner, under the carpet, but I promise you that it is there.

The actual machine has fallen into disuse -- but as a mental state it's next to incurable. You put in a card and the machine goes bing and you get the stamp of Worthy Member of the Society and you are now free to forget the total pointlessness of your endeavours and may look down loudly upon artists and other free souls that earn doodley-squat but might be suspected of doing something worthwhile. Just look at them. As if Society was made for having Fun...

"Is that a real profession?" Bing!
"Can you make a living out of that?" Bing!
"What is it good for?" Bing!
"Well, I can afford..." Bing!

And so (bing!) on. This perpetual noise might make it difficult for an artist to concentrate. My office is opening when my eyes open, and closing with the eyelids too -- on some days I'm out of office between, say, four and seven a.m. I'm not in any mood to hear any binging then. One has to remember that some victims of Mental Clock Punch can't help it and honestly believe that their way of life is sane -- despite all logical, not to mention ecological evidence on the contrary. In other words: They suffer from mechanical self-esteem. You have to remember, dear artist, or dear anyone who lives and works outside the box and the clock -- the poor fellows who have to criticise your profession are merely to be viewed as a (natural but irksome) part of your profession... Bing!