Comments on: Guerilla clockmaking

Guerilla clockmaking

nicolas léonard sadi carnot — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:27:15 -0800

Untergunther, a chapter of the Parisian cultural guerilla organisation UX (most memorably responsible for setting up a secret theatre in the catacombs under the Seine in 2004), unveil their latest project - a clock-restoration workshop hidden in the Pantheon dome! The group's own report and pictures here.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:37:59 -0800

a chapter of the Parisian cultural guerilla organisation UX A gang of qualified clock makers wants to volunteer their time to repair a clock? Why could they not have done this with the support of the city? Why go "guerilla"? This is cool in a zany high school mischief sort of way, but reparation and restoration of items of cutural significance is probably something that is best left to professionals operating in the light of day.

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:12:55 -0800

A gang of qualified clock makers wants to volunteer their time to repair a clock? Why could they not have done this with the support of the city? Why go "guerilla"? You aren't familiar with French bureaucracy, are you? If they had tried to do it through official channels, they'd still be waiting for a first reply. As for the "support of the city", since the Pantéon is a national monument, I don't think it would have been much use...They would have had to go to whatever national ministry is in charge of it (probably the Defence Ministry...not the most transparent or open-minded of French institutions) to ask for permission.

By: the quidnunc kid

the quidnunc kid — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:24:23 -0800

Unter Gunther, doompa dee doo I've got a perfect puzzle for you Unter Gunther, doompa dee dee If you are wise you'll listen to me What do you get when you pick every lock Sneaking around, just to fix someone's clock? Making your home in the Panthéon's dome - Why don't you leave culture well alone? I DON'T LIKE THE LOOK OF IT

By: barnacles

barnacles — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:26:59 -0800

Better to leave a heritage item alone, rather than place it in the hands of folks untrained in heritage management. A cute act -- and definitely neat -- but I'd rather they fought their way through the bureaucracy rather than leaving it to a single clockmaker and his army of nurses and lawyers.

By: jiiota

jiiota — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:46:24 -0800

Well, I think it's neat. I get really tired of everyone acting like they're worried about upsetting the time-space continuum. Like we're supposed to walk lightly so that we don't accidentally change history, as though we're not part of it. Admittedly, there are many more ways to change history for the worse than there are to change it for the better, but fixing clocks isn't one of them. Here in the U.S. they likely would have been arrested for terrorism and sent away for the duration. I'm hoping that pendulum swings the other way soon.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:12:14 -0800

three blind mice writes "reparation and restoration of items of cutural significance is probably something that is best left to professionals operating in the light of day." True, but here the choice wasn't "fix it guerilla or leave it to professionals", but "fix it guerilla or leave it rusting and broken".

By: Phanx

Phanx — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:21:20 -0800

Bravo, I say. I suspect the cultural significance of the clock is being a little overstated. I think the real motivation was to do some strange, cool, slightly surreal stuff: the clock is really just a post facto rationale for a kind of existentialist act. Which is surely much better than if it were just some worthy piece of civic horology, clandestine or overt.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:45:29 -0800

i love these guys : >

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:45:40 -0800

I thought this was awesome, and this photo of their hideaway was cool too. Love the chairs. Not only do they have an expert clockmaker, but they also have some people with a pretty good sense of design and theater. I just wish I had been a part of this group, and actually almost wish I lived in Paris. There's so much stuff that sits rotting, and in the basements of museums. Even for all the thought that they're supposed to be the ultimate caretakers of history. Maybe this will shed some awareness on that.

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:45:51 -0800

COOLEST POST EVER. "Many of them were students in the Latin Quarter in the 80s and 90s, when it was popular to have secret parties in Paris's network of tunnels." Why was I not a part of this world? I don't think "secret party" could ever, ever be cooler. Also, this should be made into a film, like Thomas Crown Affair style, but with less stealing and more fixing.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:47:49 -0800

(and don't forget Robert DeNiro in Brazil)

By: languagehat

languagehat — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:49:58 -0800

This is great—thanks to nlsc for the post and to UX for their cleverness, daring, and commitment to preserving history! These comments about how things should be Left to the Authorities, even if the Authorities will never do anything, are depressing. Authorities and credentials are bullshit; knowledge and passion and the ability to get things done are what's important. Take charge of your own world, it's the only one you've got!

By: Rangeboy

Rangeboy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:00:27 -0800

Interesting story. These guys remind me of Silhouette from Deus Ex.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:00:58 -0800

This was the only post I've ever "favorited" on BoingBoing when I saw it come up, just because of how awesome it is. There's a certain air of "IM IN UR PANTHEON, FIXIN UR STUFF" about it, as well.

By: Hobgoblin

Hobgoblin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:15:43 -0800

These comments about how things should be Left to the Authorities, even if the Authorities will never do anything, are depressing Second the motion. Let there be guerrilla fixeruppers! Very cool post.

By: CheeseburgerBrown

CheeseburgerBrown — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:17:14 -0800

Rock ON.

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:56:42 -0800

These guys are the good guys, good guys is what these guys are.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:11:06 -0800

Yep, I am another person wondering why my life has not included partying in the Paris underground and the clandestine fixing of cultural monuments. Because that's freaking cool. I love their little hideout, those chairs rock. That said, "...(they) were cleared on Friday of breaking into the 18th-century monument in a plot worthy of Dan Brown..." made me cringe. Honestly, could people PLEASE stop giving Dan Brown so much freaking credit? Just. Ugh.

By: Alex404

Alex404 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:43:58 -0800

That said, "...(they) were cleared on Friday of breaking into the 18th-century monument in a plot worthy of Dan Brown..." made me cringe. Honestly, could people PLEASE stop giving Dan Brown so much freaking credit? Just. Ugh. Seriously, eh? At least they mentioned Umberto Eco afterwords, to make it all the more jarring. The quoted sentence reads to me like: "... they were cleared Friday of making a philosophical argument worthy of Ayn Rand or David Hume." Just ewwwwww.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:00:04 -0800

Which is surely much better than if it were just some worthy piece of civic horology, clandestine or overt. Well, I disagree, but it's just a matter of taste. I'll take horology over existentialism any day. But if existentialism provided the motivation for fixing a clock, all the better.

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:17:30 -0800

"...(they) were cleared on Friday of breaking into the 18th-century monument in a plot worthy of Dan Brown..." Their plot was wooden, simpleminded to the point of absurdity and showed only the most dilettantish efforts to understand the complexities of the subject matter at hand and yet still sold eight bajillion copies to a willing public that prefers even their light summer genre reading to be a comforting pap of raw donut batter?

By: bitter-girl.com

bitter-girl.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:19:16 -0800

ÜnterGünther.

By: From Bklyn

From Bklyn — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:00:27 -0800

things magazine has a nice bit about this and urban exploration, and actually this post (also)... though the latter is less interesting than the former and, with all due respect, neither are moreinteresting than the original subject. And yeah, for the nth time, these cats? The UntherGunther-ists? Are it.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:23:09 -0800

Right. ON!

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:01:55 -0800

So, they played with the French government's dingaling? Cool, I like it. (My partner went to school in Paris in the 90's. He didn't get to any underground parties. Oh, wait, he's a geek. Never mind)