Artist Todd McLellan Deconstructs the Flip Clock

Flip Clock Fans Interviews Canadian Photographer and Artist Todd McLellan
One of the greatest things about flipclockfans forum has to be the exposure to flip clocks of course, but also to the wider world of vintage, mid-century modern technology and even art. So it was that forum member, flipclock_nl (Robert) brought to our attention the fascinating art of Todd McLellan.

Todd McLellan lives and works in Toronto, Canada and specializes in automotive, commercial and conceptual projects. He grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada where he was raised by his father who was a carpenter and mother who was an electrical technician which undoubtedly influenced the artist as seen in his latest photography series "Things Come Apart." In this amazing, fascinating artwork, Todd deconstructs or disassembles many every day objects, many from the mid-century modern era, then displays them. The displays typically come in two forms. First a meticulously and neatly arranged artistic display of all the components. Second, the follow up image consisting of the object in mid drop (or toss up). What caught Robert's eye was the flip clock that had been deconstructed. After he shared this on the forum, I became enthralled. So... I contacted Todd McLellan to learn more about this series.

Mackey (Flip Clock Fans Administrator): Regarding the flip clock: Did you actually do all the deconstruction yourself?

Todd McLellan:
"The Old Flip Clock was one of the first disassemblies I worked on for this photo series. I had acquired these objects from curb sides, thrift shops and hand me downs. I wanted to give them new life other than photographing them as is which are already naturally beautiful. I wanted to show them in a new light and demonstrate the inner workings. Have people think a bit more about the stuff they toss on a regular basis.

The disassembly was a critical part to this art. It not only helped with my curiosity of what is inside but also a rudimentary understanding of how it works. As I was disassembling it, I would visualize how the photograph would take shape.

Here’s a video of when I disassembled the first group of objects for the Things Come Apart series. "

Mackey:
How many hours would you estimate that it took to completely annihilate that flip clock?

Todd McLellan:
"With the disassemblies I really tried to take the objects apart without destroying them. I did want to take them further than most would in repair to show as many components as I could. I did remove the “horrid black glue” in places. These disassemblies would take a day or two. I would guess that the flip clock was around 2 days to complete the photo. I would guess that it took me around 6 hours to disassemble this. After that came planning and setup of the set."

Mackey:
Are you still working on these types of projects?

Todd McLellan:
"I have disassembled hundreds of objects and am still doing it to this day as commissions for art or advertising or if I’m interested in a piece. As of a couple years ago I have started putting them back together. I’m not so much into the assembly but it’s a great achievement to get them working again."

Mackey:
Do you have any tours coming up?

Todd McLellan:
"I have a exhibition traveling with the Smithsonian in the US right now and currently is stopped at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in Connecticut.

The second edition of Things Come Apart was released last spring as well."


More Information
I am very grateful to Todd for taking the time to answer a few questions. We haven't heard the last from this artist ... so stay tuned. We have more in the works. Take the time to review of the following:


Todd McLellan's art prints can be purchased online at his website

https://www.toddmclellan.com/

His works can also be seen and appreciated in his book:
Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living 1st Edition
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Come-A.../dp/0500516766

Todd McLellan author page

https://www.amazon.com/Todd-McLellan/e/B00B6YG2ZG

Please go to the Forum Post to comment and discuss.