Chromed Ice Cream Soda
Robert Watts
American, 1923–1988
c. 1964
A chrome‑plated sculpture that freezes the everyday pleasure of an ice‑cream soda into a hard, reflective object (chrome plating over an unidentified substrate), asking viewers to see a familiar consumer treat as industrial material.
At first glance it reads like a real milkshake, but the mirrorlike chrome flattens creamy folds into jagged, metallic ruffles so the tempting, soft forms become cold, gleaming and strangely inaccessible.
Made in the Fluxus moment, it uses Pop and readymade strategies to turn a disposable, consumable object into a durable, ironic artwork that questions consumer desire and the boundary between art and commodity.
Medium
Chrome plating over unidentified substrate
Dimensions
overall (irreg.): 8 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/2" (21.6 x 9.5 x 8.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift
Accession
2906.2008.a-b
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
