Showing posts with label David Hutson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Hutson. Show all posts

Friday, November 9, 2018

Qu’ils Mangent de la Brioche


More neon art at Laumeier, this one by David Hutson himself. This was hard to me to read at first because what look like R's to me in the second word are actually N's. This is the original French of the famous words attributed to Marie Antoinette, usually rendered in English as "let them eat cake," the words she supposedly spoke after being told that the peasants had no bread.

There are problems with the story. The word brioche doesn't actually mean cake. It is a very rich bread with lots of egg and butter; it would have been as unaffordable to the masses as cake. However, there is no evidence that Marie spoke these words. They have become part of a legend.

Note the unusual bread slicer in the lower right. It resembles Le Rasoir National, a clever compliment to the words.       

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Freezer Fresh


Those are two words I don't expect to see together. If you buy frozen salmon at the supermarket, is it fresh?

This is from the current indoor exhibit at Laumeier Sculpture Park. It is about the restored old neon signs and neon sculpture of David Hutson. I suppose the big sign is about ice cream, although it's hard to be sure. It's certainly not acceptable by today's standards.The small sign in the back is part of Hutson's expression of Claes Oldenburg's artistic philosophy.