I love this piece, "McForest," by Berlin-based artist Sarah Illenberger. Her site doesn't elaborate on the thought process behind it, but perhaps it's a comment on deforestation in the name of cattle-ranching? The piece appears to have been an entry in the book Sideways: A Smart Art Project, released as part of a Mercedes-Benz SmartCar promotion. [Tip o' the hat to "Hamburger Matty" via Happy Mundane]
I was going to hold off on this post, but I might as well get all the downer burger stuff out today:
This is like an anti-commercial for burgers. Something about the way Andy Warhol eats this burger takes all the joy out of the iconic American dish.
I'll look for a "unicorn chaser" to cheer you up, burgerers.
Link: Andy Warhol Eats a Burger [YouTube]
Ladies and gentlemen, last week my Serious Eats colleague Alaina Browne blogged about Value Pack, the typeface made from hamburger meat. Today, in this installment of Grilled, we bring you the man behind the meatfont. So, without further ado, let's get Grillin'! —The Mgmt.
Name: Robert Bolesta
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Graphic designer
What inspired you to create Value Pack?
It was made for a typography class I was taking at Pratt Institute. The project was to make an alphabet out of any found object. I wanted to do raw meat, and hamburger was the easiest to mold and shape into letter-forms.
What, if anything, does Value Pack say to the observer?
It was intended to be just a type study, but I suppose there are other levels of meaning, if you choose to read into it. I made it before I read Fast Food Nation
Who are your artistic influences or inspirations?
I am graduating in about a month, so right now a couple of my professors have had big impacts on me.
How long did it take to make Value Pack?
A frustrating day to shoot it. I went home to Pennsylvania to do it so I'd have more space. I repackaged each one individually, and I figured out that regular plastic wrap doesn't look the same as industrial plastic wrap, so at midnight I drove to the 24-hour grocery store and asked them if they would go back behind the meat counter to get me a sample of the industrial kind. They actually did it! It was awesome, but it made me feel weird when they watched me leave. They had this look on their faces like they had just given a murderer his weapon.
Value Pack is an alphabet made of raw hamburger. Each letter character is hand-shaped, packaged, and photographed by Robert Bolesta. [via swissmiss]
Yesterday, we used a photograph of a farmer eating a burger at a cornhusking contest in Marshall County, Iowa, to illustrate an entry here. It's from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Below, we offer a look at other noteworthy burger photos we dug up from the available online collection.
Most of the photos here were taken by Russell Lee (right; 1903–1986), who was invited to join the federally funded Farm Security Administration as part of a team of photographers charged with documenting the plight of the rural poor during the Depression. (Esther Bubley, Jack Delano, and Arthur Rothstein, whose photos are also represented below, were members of the project as well.)
These photos are truly a fascinating scrapbook of hamburger—and American—history, and they're available for reproduction online at the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room (search the catalog for "hamburger"). Dig in!
Making hamburgers in concession stand, National Rice Festival, Crowley, Louisiana; October 1938; Russell Lee
Interior of hamburger stand. Waiting for customer, Alpine, Texas; May 1939; Russell Lee
Booth in hamburger stand, Alpine, Texas; May 1939; Russell Lee
Man in hamburger stand, Alpine, Texas; May 1939; Russell Lee
Little boy buying hamburger, state fair, Donaldsonville, Louisiana; November 1938; Russell Lee
Hamburger stand with old brands, Dumas, Texas; September 1939; Russell Lee
A hamburger shop in Durham, North Carolina; May 1940; Jack Delano
Hamburger stand and back of buildings on main street, Eufaula, Oklahoma; February 1940; Russell Lee
Hamburger stand, Harlingen, Texas; February 1939; Russell Lee
Hamburger stand. Imperial County Fair, California; March 1942; Russell Lee
Hamburger stand. Imperial County Fair, California; March 1942; Russell Lee
Blue Island, Illinois. After a movie, the Senise family drops in at a lunch counter for hamburgers; February 1943; Jack Delano
Washington, D.C. Walter Spangenberg and his date at the Hot Shoppe after the Woodrow Wilson High School regimental ball. She ordered a hamburger and milk, while he got a hamburger and a Coke; October 1943; Esther Bubley
At the hamburger stand on the Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon; July 1941; Russell Lee
White Tavern hamburger stand was the popular place in Amsterdam, New York; October 1941; John Collier
White Tavern hamburger stand was the popular place in Amsterdam, New York; October 1941; John Collier
Woodville, California. FSA (Farm Security Administration) farm workers' community. Migrant agricultural workers eating hamburgers at the Saturday night dance; January 1942; Russell Lee
Woodville, California. FSA (Farm Security Administration) farm workers' community. The women's club sells hamburgers at the Saturday night dances; January 1942; Russell Lee
Farmer eats hamburger at cornhusking contest, Marshall County, Iowa; November 1939; Arthur Rothstein
We rarely show you how hamburgers have contributed to modern art, but today that changes. I make no promises for the future (as I don't know how deep the burger's art history runs), but the piece above is by illustrator Yuko Shimizu and is entitled "mutual fund know how round up". Feel free to impart your own thoughts on the meaning of this artwork in the comments. I'll be of no help, but this definitely looks a lot like a recurring dream of mine.
Illustration by Yuko Shimizu (via Drawn!)
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