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Hand with Clock

Hand mit Uhr is a 1975 bronze sculpture by Joachim Schmettau in Berlin’s Hansaviertel. It was created as an art-on-building commission for the former Menzel School, now Gymnasium Tiergarten, and stands at the corner of Altonaer Ecke Lessingstraße. The work shows a silver-grey hand mounted on a white exposed-concrete stele, with a digital clock set below the cut-off wrist. Originally, the upper part of the stele was faced with red mosaic tiles, later replaced by orange exposed concrete during restoration. The sculpture became a well-known school meeting point and gained international attention in 1983 as the backdrop for Depeche Mode’s video for “Everything Counts.”

Hand with Clock sculpture on a tall pedestal beside a digital time display, with trees, bicycles, and a nearby building in the background.
Hand with Clock stands on a paved walkway in Berlin, with a digital time display mounted near the wrist.
October 2012 © · CC0
Hand mit Uhr sculpture by Joachim Schmettau, showing a dark metal hand on a tall pedestal with a clock display at the wrist.
Joachim Schmettau’s Hand mit Uhr sculpture in Berlin, with a dark metal hand mounted on a tall pedestal.
November 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hand with Clock sculpture with a glowing red digital display, standing on a white pedestal near parked bicycles and a moped.
Hand with Clock stands on a pedestal outdoors, with bicycles and a moped nearby.
2013 © Rlbberlin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Weathered Hand with Clock sculpture standing on a tiled pedestal with graffiti, framed by trees and green foliage.
The Hand with Clock sculpture appears weathered and dark against a leafy outdoor backdrop.
August 2008 © Rolf Nemitz · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Hand with Watch sculpture, a dark weathered hand mounted on a graffiti-covered pedestal in an urban setting.
The Hand with Watch sculpture stands on a graffiti-covered pedestal in an urban landscape.
August 2008 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleHand mit Uhr
English titleHand with Clock
Typesculpture / monument

Historical context

Date1975
Commission contextCommissioned as Kunst am Bau in connection with the school extension in the 1970s

Creator

ArtistJoachim Schmettau
Significance in artist's careerHis first sculpture in public space / first work for the beautification of urban public space
Related works by the artistWeltkugelbrunnen (1983) at Breitscheidplatz, Tanzendes Paar (1984) near Hermannplatz U-Bahn station, Hand mit Ei

Location and ownership

Local saying"We meet at the hand"
Role in urban spaceArt integrated into architecture (Kunst am Bau)
Local roleA popular meeting point for students and schoolchildren
LocationAt the intersection of Altonaer Straße and Lessingstraße, on the forecourt of the former Menzel-Oberschule (today Gymnasium Tiergarten), Berlin, Germany
Original placementIn front of the present-day Gymnasium Tiergarten

Physical characteristics

Height4.5 m including the base
DiameterAbout 1.5 m
Support structureMounted on a rectangular, slightly rotated cube-shaped stele
Hand poseA hand rests on the pedestal, with the fingertips gripping the upper part of the stele
Top elementAmputated wrist with an embedded electronic digital clock
ColorHand: silver-gray; clock display: red

Materials

Base materialWhite facing concrete
Original upper surface materialRed mosaic tiles
Current upper surface materialOrange facing concrete
Main materialBronze

Technique

ClockElectronic digital clock embedded beneath the wrist

Appearance

Depicted motifA hand resting on a pedestal, with fingers appearing to grasp the cube
Upper stele formSlightly rotated and cube-shaped
Subject emphasisPart of a series of works by Schmettau focusing on hands

Iconography and meaning

Symbolic significanceAn identity-forming landmark for students and residents of the neighborhood

Significance

International recognitionGained international attention in 1983 as a backdrop in Depeche Mode's video for "Everything Counts"
Music video detailThe band members stood around the sculpture during the line "the grabbing hands grab all they can..."

History and restoration

Condition over timeThe clock stopped working after a few years because weather exposure damaged it
Vandalism and damageDefaced by graffiti, painted fingernails / nail polish, and stickers; the internal steel framework became heavily corroded
Restoration initiativeIn 2008 the Bürgerverein Hansaviertel and the school administration initiated restoration and temporarily dismantled the sculpture
RestorationRestored and cleaned in 2012, fitted with a new clock, and returned to its original site
Restoration material changeThe red mosaic on the upper part of the stele was replaced with orange facing / exposed concrete during restoration
Current conditionStill regularly defaced with graffiti and requires repeated cleaning