Flush with Meaning

Recent depressing developments [see: Bear Ears National Monument, tax reform, border wall, et al] have me looking to art for comfort. Made while he was participating in the arts/industry residency program at the John Michael Kohler [yes, that Kohler] Arts Center, this 1974 sculpture by Jack Earl caught my eye. Perhaps you'll find some personal solace in 'The Factory as Toilet' as well.

It's Not Just for Popcorn Anymore

As we are extremely invested in the world of kitchen appliances here at KBCULTURE, I'm sharing this video as a sort of public service. As you may have noticed, there has been a recent interest in the capabilities of the microwave oven. Watch and learn....

Fixture Fixation

I need more art.

'Lake Michigan Bathroom' is an exuberantly detailed ceramic work created by Ann Agee. The artwork, with its elaborate pictorial treatment, gives a nod to chinoiserie—but a scrutinizing look reveals very contemporary subject matter, as this close-up of the sink illustrates. [The full installation features a toilet, bidet, urinal, and basin.] Interestingly, Agee was an artist-in-residence at Kohler for two years. annageestudio.com

Go With the Flow

While the kitchen and bath fields are brimming with creativity of all types, sometimes a shot of fine art is in order. Providing a bit of intellectual escapism—for me—is this powerful installation by Kate MccGwire. In 'Evacuate,' a mass of feathers spews from the cookstove out into the scullery, resisting reality and raising questions about life itself. katemccgwire.com

Thanks + Giving, Day 4

At the risk of stating the obvious, artist Robert Therrien's super-sized explorations of domestic objects have a particular significance today. This towering, nine-foot-tall stack of pots and pans is a hallucinogenic-sized representation of the scene in most American kitchens today.

Happy Thanksgiving! gagosian.com

A Pause

Today, I'm setting aside the world of kitchens and baths. It's time for reflection. Tomorrow, we'll resume the gentle pursuit of beauty.

Fare Thee Well [Done]

In the wake of the Grateful Dead's sendoff concerts in Chicago, what could be more appropriate for this week's Flashback [ahem] Friday than a visit to Jerry Garcia's backstage kitchen. In this 1987 clip, Captain Chef Trips shares a few favorite party recipes. Nota bene: This wasn't the only GD-related culinary happening in 1987; it was also the year Ben & Jerry's introduced Cherry Garcia to the world.

Say It Ain't Snow, Day 3

British artists Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich created this inflatable iceberg/hot tub to explore the relationship between art and physical and psychological well-being. Speaking personally, I'd be happy to experience the 'Sci-Fi Hot Tub' floating in an incongruous tropical setting; no chilly fjords for me, thank you. walkerandbromwich.org.uk

Sight Specific

'Waste No Space' might well be the mantra for the entire kitchen industry, from cabinet and appliance manufacturers to designers to consumers. Berlin-based artist Michael Johansson puts this issue in a wholly new perspective, as he fastidiously fits the components of a typical kitchen into a tight composition. Compressed into a single wall, 'Ghost V' offers a revealing lesson in spatial relationships and materialism. michaeljohansson.com

Kitchen Sink Caddy

[This post's a shout-out to my car-crazed friends in Benton Harbor, Michigan; Pleasantville, New York; and Saudi Arabia—you know who you are.]

Giving new meaning to take-out dining, this Sixty Special Fleetwood was one of four Cadillac concept cars made in 1956. With the shotgun seat replaced by a refrigerator, hot plate, sink, toaster, and storage, I'll assume the driver never went hungry during road trips.

So Cool

On this happily-rare 90ºF day, let's take little break from reality and soak in the beauty of an art installation currently installed in a national park near Sancy, France. Part of the Arts-Nature annual show, 'Bridal Veil', by Louis Sicard, is a wooden aquaduct-like structure that meanders through the forest for more than 130 feet, releasing a shower-like curtain of water on visitors strolling along its length. If you're fortunate enough to be in the neighborhood, it's up until 28 September; I'll be cooling off vicariously—très triste! horizons-sancy.com

Remembered Places

Artist Do Ho Suh stitches incredibly detailed, gossamer sculptures of buildings and interiors. Simply put, his work is about the memory of place. I'm finding the cloud-like, amorphous environments a suitable precursor to a long flight home. [The fact that the installation is sagging ever-so-slightly is not lost on me; in fact, it makes it all the more fitting.] lehmannmaupin.com

Rings of Fire

It's rare that I post on a purely decorative item, but this grid of cast-iron burner grates merits an exception on something more than an aesthetic basis. As culinary/industrial artifacts, they remind me of the labor of creativity that goes into both cooking and industrial design. lostfoundart.com

What Once Was Will Be Again

It's the final Flashback Friday of 2013, dear readers, and in a temporal juxtaposition befitting a New Year's Day hangover, we'll simultaneously look forward and back. In 1899, artist Jean-Marc Côté created fifty depictions of daily life in the year 2000. His take on the kitchen certainly foreshadows today's molecular gastronomy craze; the steampunkish 'appliances' look like they'd fit in at a hipster Williamsburg boîte.

If you're curious about the other facets of the future, you're in good company: no less a visionary than Isaac Asimov was captivated by them. In his book Futuredays, the science-fiction master muses on the entire set of Côté's illustrations, which in addition to the kitchen, include such now-realized technologies as wheeled houses, robotic floor cleaners, and variations on the computer, in addition to some questionably prescient pastimes as aerial tennis and deep-sea croquet.

Appliance Art

Today a new visitor's center opens at Stonehenge, just three days before various druids, revelers, and pagans converge on the site to celebrate the winter solstice. But there won't be any such gathering at the once venerable Fridgehenge, aka Stonefridge. Erected in 2003 outside Santa Fe, New Mexico by  artist/filmmaker Adam Horowitz and the Primordial Soup Company, its 100+ discarded coolers were configured into a satiric 'anti-monument' to consumerism. A well-crafted video tells the unlikely story of the installation.

Hamba Kakuhle, Tata

Sentenced to life in prison, Nelson Mandela arrived at Robben Island, seven miles off the coast of Cape Town, in 1964. Eighteen years later, Prisoner 46664 was moved to a series of mainland jails; Mandiba was freed in 1990. Today, Robben Island is a World Heritage Site, and former political prisoners lead tours of the facility. This is the kitchen. robben-island.org.za

Marching On

'What good does it do to be able to eat at a lunch counter if you can't buy a hamburger?' —Martin Luther King

TMI

At KBCULTURE, we're following the current snooping and secret-sharing hoopla with a vested interest. [It's a little thing called freedom of the press.] So to see the issue cross over into the kitchen realm is quite the treat. In his aptly titled 'Informationleak_', Richard Evans, an artist and designer based in Birmingham/UK, arranges a torrent of laser-cut wooden letters gushing from a faucet and overflowing the sink. As best with all creative endeavors, I'll leave the interpreting up to you—but do note the small sign on the wall above the tap. It reads, 'Danger Hot Water'.

Up and Away We Go

I'm off—almost—to share my thoughts on LivingKitchen 2013 with some members of New York's most esteemed designer community. This mural, by provocateur street artist Banksy, reminds me not to get too carried away by the process.

Gabba Gabba Hey!

If you've never had the pleasure of seeing a genuine New York City kitchen, behold. Four-burner mini stove [the oven is customarily used for storage], 12-cubic-foot fridge [needs defrosting], litter box for illegal feline tenant. Chances are good that this one is unchanged from 1982, not only because of lax landlords, but because of historic reasons: The tenant was one Joey Ramone. While I haven't yet seen the show, the punk-fashion exhibit at the Met is a puzzle to me; it seems to bestow belated credibility to a movement that avoided such status at all costs.

This Sunday, Joey née Jeffry Hyman would be 62 years old. Punk lives!