Exhibitions / Collections 2009-2010 - Nicolaysen Art Museum and ...

Exhibitions / Collections 2009-2010
I Want Candy: The Sweet Stuff in American Art
October 2, 2009- January 3, 2010
Submitted by Lisa Hatchadoorian, Curator
Public Programming
1. Lecture by the Curator: Bart Bland (Hudson River Museum, NY)
2. Nutrition Workshops for Children
In partnerships with the Natrona County School District, the Wyoming—Action for Healthy Kids Association and the state of Wyoming and
County Extension office, and in conjunction with exhibiting I Want Candy: The Sweet Stuff in American Art, we planned an education series for
children of all ages throughout the NCSD and an evening program targeting an adult audience centered on the topics of sensible nutrition,
healthy lifestyle choices and disease prevention. During the week of November 2-6, 2009, the NIC hosted daily sessions for one week for
classroom visits to the I Want Candy exhibit. There were one morning and one afternoon session each day where students came in to see the
art, participate in art/health activities and listen to educational health information presented by Katrina Lorenzen, the Student Wellness Coordinator
for NCSD for approximately 2 hour sessions. The general session calendar was designed by Katrina, in cooperation with NIC staff, to
coordinate the grouping of similar visiting age groups and scheduling the classes that would like to participate. Katrina distributed the schedule
in an invitation to all teachers in the school district to participate during this special week of fun and health education. Classrooms were
scheduled on a first-come-first-serve basis. We estimated that we accommodated 400-600 students in the sessions total.
3. Adult Nutrition Lecture: How To Eat Chocolate by Dayle Hayes- November 5, 2009
Panel discussion with healthcare professionals, nutritionists and dieticians from Wyoming
Candy is endlessly enticing, and the numerous works of art incorporating confections parallel the profusion of commercial sweets available in
a riotous array of sizes, shapes, and colors. Contemporary artists have increasingly embraced sugar as one of their most popular subjects.
They invoke candy in everything from video art to site specific installations, exploring metaphors ranging from childhood innocence to decadent
consumerism. Although there are scattered examples of sweets in American nineteenth-century painting, they are rare. Candy did not
becomea major subject until the advent of Pop Art in the late 1950s, during a period when wide availability and mass marketing made sweets
ubiquitous.
Most of the 80 artworks in I WANT Candy appears beautifully ―sugar coated,‖ but often that beauty conceals need. Wayne Theibaud, the modern
master of still life painting, whose work has directly influenced a number of the artists in the exhibition, has said of his luscious desserts
locked behind glass, ―it’s the exclusionary aspect that gets me—there’s a lot of yearning there.‖
I Want Candy was organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington D.C., and the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
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