John Hooper Studios

John Hooper is a world renown sculptor who made his home and studio in Hampton, New Brunswick. His works can be seen all over Canada and even overseas. John was born in 1926 and past away in January of 06'. His legacy lives on through his amazing pieces of art. The art featured in this video today are the Market Square Time Piece and People Waiting. How to read the Time Piece The timepiece is a clock tower with a difference. It has no face and no hands. The numerals are on a horizontal band, above which another, encircled by a snake, completes one rotation every six hours. The traditional hands are replaced by the tail of the snake. How to tell the time has not been explained since the artist wished people to have to “ puzzle it out”. The snake’s tail is the “pointer” or “hour hand” and as it reaches the hour there are two numbers or hours to choose from - which one is obvious since the observer is usually aware of the general time of the day. The carvings are all in some way related to Man’s involvement with time. The snake grasping its tail for instance, is the symbol of eternity, and the little group at the top of the column are passing time. The structure and the carvings are of Honduras mahogany. Epoxy has been used as a sealant, stains for the bench and structure, and acrylic polymer paint for the carvings. The guilding is gold leaf. The clock mechanism is located immediately beneath the four standing figures and is driven by an AC synchronous electric motor (which can be heard above the traffic noise if one listens carefully). John Hooper of Hampton designed and carved the timepiece. Kathy Hooper, also an artist and John’s wife, was a colour consultant and assistant. The clock mechanism and wood construction is the work of Jack Massey of Darling’s Island.