recently i checked out ruth downes ‘lunch for the trades‘ . It is such a cool project.
first, it’s done a great job in being immersive. the room isn’t a perfect substitute for a school cafeteria but the metal rails with the trays on top, the way you wind around when you’re looking at the trays, the signs on the wall… it all adds to the experience. it was very hard not to pick up a tray or move it along the rails. I so wanted to touch!!!!!
and then the actual sculptures… whimsy, cool, intricate, detailed & very imaginative. I loved them & couldn’t decide which I liked best. They are the sort of thing I’d love to walk past every morning b/c they would make me smile.
i snapped some pix & there’s a few online. i don’t think there’s the full set of 22 lunches. while it was hard to pick a fav, the computer one has to be a top 5 for me (but really, i’d say there’s 10 that i would adore).
the computer one…. microfiche n chips. ie computer chips. the screen kept changing between fries (as seen here) and a pix of a fish. and there were boards strewn around. i also loved the mcdonalds like quality of the keypad. instead of a keyboard, it was pix of food (like fish) or arrows and other items. ala how a mcdonalds employee will press a button that looks like fries rather than use words.
other favs…
mechanics minestrone , jeweler’s fish & onion rings (this is the same as above except i got the lemon in my pix!) & seamstress finger sandwiches
here’s an interview with ruth where she talks about this exhibit
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