Marta's WWH

1. situation

what?

Modern Art Desserts is a work conceived by Silverado collective; an installation and performance realized during Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm in 2015. During the 5-days event, we were presenting works of famous artists in form of confectionary objects. We set up a long, white, minimal counter with a glass vitrine where the works were shown. Behind the counter there were three people, serving the cakes, chatting with visitors on the importance of this specific work of art in terms of its aesthetic and historic value and talking about the Silverado collective. Everyday one could taste two different works of art (among others: Mondrian, Lichtenstein, Manzoni). The performers were two girls and a boy and they represented our collective. They were wearing elegant, minimal clothes and acting distinctly.

how?

Through visual affinity and the performers behavior, our project was mimicking the commercial art fair. In order to do so, we were aiming to fulfill the standards of a professional presentation situation. For that reason we hired the performers, designed clothes for them, collaborated with a fancy confectionary in Stockholm that prepared the cakes and desserts for the project. At the same time it was all about playing with this conventions, having fun and creating a situation of dialogue, coexistence, a space of gathering and discussion - the performers were playing a role, apart from serving cakes, of a medium, they were actively participating, interrupting and conducting the conversations

why?

Modern Art Desserts was a situation-specific work and was conceived and designed especially for the occasion of this particular fair. We didn't want to present any preexisting artworks, rather create an ephemeral situation of coexistence, which at the same time would correspond with the idea of the fair. Supermarket Art Fair is a platform that gathers independent galleries and artist run spaces yet at the same time the format itself mimics the commercial fair. Our aim was to critically and collectively reflect on this phenomena and pose questions rather then use this platform to present "the highlights" of our initiative. We hired three actors to represent us in order to push further the "play" and we thought they must be professional, rhetorically skilled, good looking and knowledgeable in terms of art.

Steve's note to all: I suggest you cut the headings: what,  how & why. The text will hold up well.

2 cakes what? Modern Art desserts evolved around the confectionary objects. Each day there were two different cakes/desserts inspired by two particular works of art. They were presented under a glass vitrine that was situated on the side of a white, long, pretty high counter. The visitors were offered the sweets. The cakes were inspired by a book by Caitlin Freeman containing the receipts (cook in SFMOMA)

How? The desserts and cakes were baked by a confectionary called prince philosopher based in Stockholm. They were presented and offered to the public by performers. Through this “unserious” gesture of consuming pieces of art we aimed to critically reflect on the phenomena of the art fair itself.

Why?

SECOND DRAFT:

modern art desserts:

objects + situation (very artificial division for the sake of this exercise!)

1. situation

what?

Modern Art Desserts is a work conceived by Silverado collective; an installation and performance realized during Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm in 2015. During the 5-days event, we were presenting works of famous artists in form of confectionary objects. We set up a white, minimal counter with a glass vitrine where the cakes were shown. Behind the counter there were three performers that represented our collective (consists of 3 people as well), serving the cakes, chatting with visitors about the cakes, the works of art they recall and about the Silverado collective. Cakes were inspired by remarkable 20-th century art works (among others: Mondrian, Lichtenstein, Manzoni). The performers were wearing elegant, minimal clothes and acting distinctly.

how?

Through visual affinity and the performers behavior, our project was mimicking the commercial art fair. We were aiming to fulfill the standards of a professional presentation situation. For that reason we hired the performers, designed clothes for them, collaborated with a fancy confectionary in Stockholm. Performers were professional, rhetorically skilled, good looking and knowledgeable in terms of art. At the same time it was all about playing with those conventions, having fun and creating a space of gathering, coexistence and discussion – apart from serving cakes, the performers were playing a role of a medium and hosts, they were leading and actively participating in the conversations. The project might have been slightly confusing for a visitor not being able to immediately recognize the status of the performers and situation as a whole.

why?

Modern Art Desserts was a situation-specific work conceived especially for the occasion of this particular fair. Opposed to presenting preexisting artworks, we created an ephemeral situation of coexistence, which at the same time corresponded with the idea of the fair. Supermarket Art Fair is a platform that gathers independent, non-profit galleries and artist run spaces, yet at the same time the format itself mimics the commercial fair. Our aim was to pose questions, critically and collectively reflect on the phenomena of a fair, its format, art consumption, and the nature and tasks of so called independent initiatives within broader perspective.

2 cakes

what?

Modern Art desserts evolved around the confectionary objects. Each day there were two different cakes/desserts inspired by two particular works of art. They were presented under a glass vitrine that was situated on the side of a white, long, pretty high counter. They were good looking, luxurious, unique and good tasting, mostly colorful, containing characteristic features of the works they were relating to.

How?

The cakes were inspired by a book by Caitlin Freeman containing the recipes and then discussed and conceived in collaboration with a Swedish confectioner (finally baked by the confectionary). They were presented and offered to the public by performers. They were about hand-size, either desserts in distinct containers or pieces of cake, each on a single plate.

Why?