popcorn is art and one of my favorite snacks
(though it’s no flamin’ hot cheetos!),
something to consider on national popcorn day.
Raining Popcorn (2001) is a piece commissioned by the Faulconer Gallery of the Grinnell College in Iowa. The commission would take artist, Sandy Skoglund many months to complete. In Skoglund’s art practice, the conceptual subject matter works in conjunction with the physical materials she uses, drawing on historical references, and instilling them with psychologically complex meaning.
Produced in 2001, just before the September 11 attacks, Raining Popcorn references the complex roots of American contemporary culture and overconsumption. The unifying subject throughout the piece is popcorn, so pronounced and repetitive it replaces nature. The popcorn becomes an all-encompassing reality, lining the walls, the floors, the subjects, and alas growing from trees. This obsessive environment constructed by Skoglund derives from the artist’s desire to combine sculptures of animals, live humans, and nature into a space that involves thought and play, as part research and part recreation.
The abundance of Popcorn acts as a reflection of the cultural environment, being noisy, excessive, universal, and part of popular culture. Currently, Americans eat 13 billion quarts of Popcorn a year, produced mostly in the heartland of America, from Illinois to Ohio. The piece is a response to memories and experiences Skoglund felt as a graduate student in Iowa.
The painstakingly handcrafted quality of the endless popcorn creates a fantasy landscape, one that raises questions about climate issues and our surrounding environment, as well as fantasy and reality. In Raining Popcorn, Skoglund’s objects and composite staging have a base in truth; they are not a product of photoshop or digital manipulation. It is critical for the artist that the photographs evidence something genuine. The constructions are explicitly staged to be photographed from one unique viewpoint.
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“americans love popcorn, and their love doesn’t quit.”
-rosecrans baldwin
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Credits: Sandy Skoglund, Raining Popcorn – Holden Luntz Gallery
Okay, all I can think about now is Cheetos making a Flamin’ Hot Popcorn. Thanks, Beth!
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By the way, Cheetos DOES make Flamin’ Hot Popcorn!
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yes, it’s out there, and just not the same, but I do love both of them )
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right! but not the same stale styrofoam texture as Cheetos, and each has a place in my heart
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What a tactile experience 🙂
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yes!
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Very interesting sculpture and scenes.
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yes –
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Reminds me of my kids playing with beans and peas on their plate.
Maybe not quite the same thing.
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yes, it is kind of like that!
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kind of
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When I clicked to enlarge the photo, I found the sculpture quite beautiful, in an interesting kind of way.
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it is, and takes a bit of time to get used to
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That sculpture just pops, Beth! Sorry to be so corny early in the a.m. Seriously, it’s quite striking art. Makes me long for a large bucket and a good movie to see while eating it!
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you always have been a good punster, and yes I so want to see a movie and have that large bucket !
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Ha. When did you last eat popcorn without a film being involved?
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I do make it at home, but even though, a movie or tv show is involved ). sporting events are another place I have popcorn, but that’s been limited for the last couple of years
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Wow! Incredible! I think the thing that fascinates me the most about popcorn as art is that it starts life as one thing and explodes into something else. Kind of like us.
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so very true –
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An amazing piece of work; I wonder where people come up with such an idea! I would have to attempt to touch it if I were near it in person!
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oh, I couldn’t handle not touching it either
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That’s a lot of lesson to be learned via popcorn. I love the lessons you share with such variety 🙂
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i’m always learning…
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It’s like breathing, can’t exist without it.
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It is so comforting)
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💗
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❤
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Simply amaizing! 🍿😻🌈
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it really is, and your comment really is funny
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(*’∀’人)♥
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Oh dear, now I’m hungry! Haha!
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Interesting. Two nights ago, from out of the blue, I decided to make a bowl of popcorn. I was just early. Maybe I’ll do it again tonight.
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just an early celebrator, clearly. no reason not to celebrate twice
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Hope there are no mice in that studio …
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right!
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Lovely post
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thank you
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Well, I feel very un-American now, I think I had one cup of popcorn last year. Others in my family eat it, but I don’t like the smell it makes in the microwave. And I haven’t been to the movies in many years and would not spend a fortune on snacks. I have, however, done my part for flaming hot cheetos. Thank you for explaining the art, as I don’t like to have to hurt my brain on art, despite it being my first college major.
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I get that and I’m happy for another flamin’ hot Cheetos lover! Yes, this was the artist’s explanation and probably deeper than I would have gone , just enjoyed the unique creation
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Love it too!
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We like popcorn in Europe too…maybe not that much, but I enjoy it once in a while…
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Something about it…
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interesting work of art; I still remember the first time we made popcorn as kids, with the weird handle and moving it back and forth across the stove
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ooh, yes –
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Thank you for sharing such an interesting topic! I sat there with my mouth open at the detailed work of each character and part of the piece. That is amazing!!!
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it is amazing, isn’t it? and it was my pleasure to share it, joy –
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😊
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Terrific stuff, Beth. Now I’m waiting for your masterpiece with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
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Neat picture for sure. Every since being diagnosed with diverticulitis, I can no longer eat popcorn. Guess it is not good for the intestines …
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Food Art. Delicious!
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Ummm, raining popcorn, yes, please…though, I do concur, it’s not hot cheetos. Hehe.
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That is an incredible and painstaking piece of artwork!! I love it. Happy Popcorn Day. I’ll have some tonight to celebrate. Thanks for sharing this.
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This was very interesting, Beth. I now understand the piece of art. Like you, I love popcorn!
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great!
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