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The end of Donald Trump's presidency is closer than ever—and there's a clock counting down the days here in NYC.
On Saturday, we all learned that Joe Biden garnered enough votes to win the presidency. Spontaneous parties broke out across the five boroughs and the digital clock counting down the end of Trump's first term in Long Island City was able to reach 73 days, rather than going back up.
we just might get to unplug this thing after all. https://t.co/MuT58Ktj01
— brandonstosuy (@brandonstosuy) November 6, 2020
The clock first went up in 2017 after Trump was elected to office by Brandon Stosuy, editor for the art-focused website The Creative Independent, who created the piece with artist Matthew Barney, Jade Archuleta-Gans, architect Jane Lea, light designer Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn and other collaborators.
Its big bright red digits can be seen at Gantry Plaza State Park in LIC (4-40 44th Drive) and from across the East River. Not a lot of passersby realize what it has been counting down because there is no context provided.
On Monday, the clock hit 71 days.
"Me, Jane and Matthew were out there on election night and when it seemed like things were going Trump's way, we were talking about what we'd do if he won again—it was depressing to consider," Stosuy tells us. "When things started moving in Biden's favor, and it then his win became a reality, it was such a relief."
When the group first put the clock up, Stosuy said he kept thinking maybe Trump might be impeached and it could be turned off early. Once that became less likely, he hoped it could at least reach zero and not have to start all over again.
"It was a mix of joy and relief," he says. "I'm also just happy that people saw it, understood what it meant, and felt some optimism or calm. We've always intentionally avoided talking much about it because we wanted it to speak for itself—and I'm so glad people found it, figured it out, and got something from it. And now I'm glad we can turn it off."
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