Acre, one of several photo constructions from the Carnal Clock series, is both a work of art and a functioning clock of sorts. In an interview with the artist, Rauschenberg described the mechanical aspects of the work: "There are always two lights on; one is the minute hand, and the other is the hour hand and they do what they have to do and it's at midnight and noon that all the lights come on for one minute, and then you get to see the whole thing at once."The graphic sexual content of the work, like that of his combines, is hidden beneath something else. In this case, the clock/light mechanism and the reflective surface of the work partially obscures the imagery and slows the comprehension of the work's content. Rauschenberg intended Acre to startle viewers, who are confronted with their own reflections as they view the work. Here, the sexual imagery is treated more as a formal device, and less as symbolic connotation.In addition to appropriated images, Rauschenberg used photographs he made specifically for this series of constructions, documenting his own body and those of some of his close friends. On this aspect of the work, he noted that "Carnal Clocks could be considered offensive. I think Carnal Clocks was racy. My flesh tells the time marked by real people who are all still living. It was an embarrassing project. Part of the project was embarrassment as a medium, because it t was about my working out my shyness to photography my friends' intimate parts."