Swatch X MoMA

If you still have some of your allowance money left after the Keith Haring drop, here is what's next from Swatch -

Courtesy of SWATCH

In collaboration with the MoMA, this collection of 6 different MoMA master works can be yours as individual stand-alone pieces, or in a very impressive folio collection -

Courtesy of Swatch

Courtesy of Swatch

Courtesy of Swatch

Courtesy of Swatch

Here's the straight skinny, straight from the source in Biel/Bienne -

Swatch announces the launch of special edition designs with The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as part of its Museum Journey series. The watches will be available at Swatch stores worldwide and swatch.com as well as global MoMA Design Stores and store.moma.org, starting on March 4, 2021.

The assortment features six unique creations inspired by artworks in MoMA’s Collection, including The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh, Hope, II (1907-1908) by Gustav Klimt, The Dream (1910) by Henri Rousseau, Composition in Oval with Color Planes 1 (1914) by Piet Mondrian, The City and Design, The Wonders of Life on Earth, Isamu Kurita (1966) by Tadanori Yokoo, and New York (1968) by Tadanori Yokoo. These watches can be purchased individually or as a collector’s edition. Swatch and MoMA developed a special box for the collector’s edition inspired by the Blade Stair, a prominent architectural feature of MoMA.

You heard it here first ; )

Do It Yourself Swatch Haring!

So for those of you who missed out on the Swatch Haring/Mickey Mouse drop (I managed to get 2 out of 3) Swatch is giving you the chance to harness your inner 80s street artist -

Courtesy of Swatch (and Henki)

So I rolled up my virtual sleeves and teleported myself to a cold and snowy Ohio morning at Oberlin Middle School back in 1981 in Mrs. McEvoy's art class, where my ham-fisted and poorly executed art projects garnered a raft of Cs given most likely out of sympathy rather than even being good enough to earn that average mark ; ). 

In fairness, I did the work, I just could not execute anything vaguely resembling something aesthetically pleasing. But fortunately Swatch had me covered with a "Henki-Proof" system of design.

So if like me you missed out on Kinetic Mickey, lively-up yourself and head over to the Swatch x You page and make some 80s magic!

Keith Haring and Mickey Mouse - I LOVE THE 80s!

Okay, you've no doubt seen this on other outlets, but here at Tempus Fugit we like to offer you something a little bit different - it's called passion!

Courtesy of SWATCH

Why is this new drop from SWATCH so important? Because it really connects on (at least) three different levels -

As a watch -

Courtesy of SWATCH

Simply put, SWATCHES like this are pure catnip to watch people. While many of us enjoy a SWATCH now and again, the Haring SWATCHes from the 1980s are still the holy grail for many hardened collectors out there. These are guys and gals with deep collections with rare and obscure pieces as well as 2 each of everything Rolex and Patek have put out for the past 3 years running. A new Haring SWATCH is HUGE to collectors.

As A Cultural Touchstone-

Courtesy of SWATCH

Keith Haring, in many ways, picked up the mantle from Andy Warhol and carried it forward. A young man from Kutztown, he came to New York following a somewhat abortive stint at the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh. Having decided that he did not fancy becoming a graphic artist, he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts in New York and never looked back.

This was a seminal time in art and culture, not just in New York, but the world. But in many ways New York was at the center of it. Not the bright shiny Times Square of today, but a darker, edgier, grittier place. There was a remarkable collision of artists both visual and musical - Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna among others. The 80s truly marked another seismic shift, no matter how bad the fashions seem in hindsight ; )

As A Bridge -

Courtesy of SWATCH

Growing up a Northern Youth in a small Ohio town, I had NO idea who Keith Haring was, and I only discovered SWATCH in 1985 with my Calypso Diver. Needless to say, as I worked my way through my last year of high school (85 - 86) I never would have imagined having the money to buy ANOTHER SWATCH! 

So for some of us, it is another bite at the apple. But Keith Haring is in many ways a James Dean of modern art. Along with Jean-Michel Basquiat he died far too young, and we can't help but wonder what might have been. And in the years since, Haring has become a rallying point for several social movements not just in the US, but around the world.

So, I for one will be bent over my laptop on Thursday, hoping to get lucky and snag one of these timekeepers. While I know that my teens, twenties, hell even my forties are now in the rear view mirror, there is something beguiling about these pieces. And I am grateful that SWATCH did not do the obvious by simply reissuing the originals, but going for something new(ish).