Public Art Fund, NYC 2005
Grand Concourse, Bronx
Public Art Fund, NYC
Hand-painted, hand-rolled aluminum, soil, live plants
Each can approx. 50” x 38” diameter
Inspired by the practice in rural households of growing plants in empty grocery-store cans, A Can for All Seasons celebrates the practice of “making do” - of using something on hand to create an aesthetic object. Each of the Mexican brand name items selected represent a type of food that is indigenous to the New World: corn, chiles, chocolate, and tomatoes. Like many international imports, these brands (Jumex, La Morena, Herdez, and Morelia) are increasingly available to mainstream America. Here, they serve as canny observations, so to speak, of the global consumer culture, standing in for the exchange and movement of ideas, images, goods, and even people across borders and social hierarchies.