A cuckoo clock, as a highly decorative object, is frequently associated with kitsch—but it is a sound object as well: with two organ-like pipes or with electronic tones and gong. The cuckoo clocks that I construct myself are as simple as possible, without ornaments, reduced to their mechanical and acoustic qualities. Each of them has two different tones, which means that once the clocks are properly coordinated, they can play different melodies together. The clocks are connected, forming an electronic network, as if the birds had agreed when to open the little door and which tone to sing. The content of the songs changes the clock’s function and removes them from their typical context. The “stress” evident in the movements of the cuckoos, each of which can only produce (other than characteristic noises) two notes to be sung at the right moment in the song—and must also move at the same time—produces a deliberately humorous effect. Questions will arise: “is this art?,” “can we laugh?,” “what sense does it make, if any?”—and one may even attempt to answer them, but it is not necessary.

© The Cuckoo Clock Orchestra is protected by a patent registered in the European Patent Office in Munich. 

Erwin Stache