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Good Quote: On the Refrigerator as Work of Art

2008_6_06-Fridge.jpg

Ms. Puett sees the refrigerator as just as valid a territory for thoughtful arrangement as any other part of the house. "It's a really fun game," she said. "It makes moving through the banalities of life stimulating."
- Artist J. Morgan Puett, quoted in the New York Times

 
 

Hmm. This quote made us laugh because we couldn't quite figure out what it meant. And yet the idea of arranging our fridge for something more than just convenience suddenly made us thoughtful. Maybe artists just have too much time on their hands - or perhaps there's something in this?

(Image: Phil Mansfield for The New York Times

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Comments (11)

I think that's going a little overboard.

Here's a piece of art in my refrigerator:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/2543513380/

And I think this refrigerator is a work of art:
http://homeappliances.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/gaggenaus-ik-300302-refrigerator-and-freezer/

posted by art on June 6th 2008 at 10:38am
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This is insane. Clearly J. Morgan Puett has too much time on her hands. But then again, it is a good excuse to get a glass front refrigerator.

posted by Comicgeek on June 6th 2008 at 11:42am
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I appreciate the beauty of those photos - but the day I start "artfully arranging" the shelves of my refrigerator they may just have to take me away.

posted by blackbird on June 6th 2008 at 11:47am
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i don't know...we create vignettes all over the rest of the house out of our functional items, why not inside the fridge? we certainly do it in our fruit bowls and on our pantry shelves. (are the people who empty their bulk grains and pastas and legumes into glass jars that they line up on a shelf and then admire not copping to "thoughtful arrangement"?)

we also do it on our bookcases, and in our bathrooms, with our shoes by the door, etc. what makes the fridge different? the only thing that would bug me about is if you ruined food in the process, i.e. how long can the above chicken leg go unwrapped?

i do like the idea out of storing my refrigerated leftovers in beautiful glass, and i don't mind the idea of being as careful with my food's display when i'm not eating it as when i am. we certainly don't mind the idea when we're inside an expensive grocery store - isn't that wholefoods' whole shtick?

posted by lindsey kathlene on June 6th 2008 at 12:24pm
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I confess I derive joy from opening the fridge to a nicely arranged collection of delicious eats.

posted by Katie in Berkeley on June 6th 2008 at 3:17pm
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If you have a refrigerator that is large enough to artfully arrange, it's too big for your needs and probably wasting energy.

This feels like the possible beginning of a whole new level of potential snobbishness. First you have the people who are wealthy enough to buy more space than they absolutely need who can show off acres of tasteful (ultra minimalist) blankness. Now, you need to also have a half empty refrigerator that you can artfully arrange?

If you have that much empty space in your life, your place is too big for your possessions and you're heating or cooling inefficiently. I don't think people need to be crammed into every corner of their storage space and living space, but they also don't need to show off lots of nothingness so they can arrange a few items artistically.

posted by Orchid64 on June 6th 2008 at 6:02pm
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with all due respect to busy people above, i have seen the inside of refrigerators artfully arranged to several purposes.

an older friend, who was raised in Germany and England, always puts a tiny vase of flowers, very small, in the center of her fridge. this little surprise helps her keep her fridge from becoming 'duty,' and remaining 'nourishment.' i now do the same.

one beautiful arrangement i saw helped me, as a vegan. grapes, pesto, green pasta, washed lettuces, and crudites were interspersed to create a green and healthy wonderland inside the fridge, a clearer path to freshness and health. i have begun arranging by colour, at least. it didn't take much time, just a slight shift.

posted by avianmission on June 7th 2008 at 5:56am
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Many artists find ways to challenge us to think differently about things that have become utilitarian or the status quo.

Some artists concern themselves with political ideas or ideas about identity which have become too readily accepted.

But why not rethink personal and domestic spaces and everyday routines as well? I love the photo of the fridge that you posted above. It reminds me of old dutch still lifes with wild game, and of the eccentric Mrs. Havisham's preserved wedding cake in Dickens. It's crazy, in a wonderful way, to think that a fridge could serve as a vitrine or Victorian display case.

posted by sarahbest on June 9th 2008 at 9:27am
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My inside-refrigerator art consists of various dried spills and oddly shaped mold growth.

posted by Shawn on June 9th 2008 at 10:03am
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This photo speaks to my heart. I open my fridge many times during the day, and each is a different visual experience. I have been know to arrange the fridge...working towards a zen experience. Then again in reality the fridge is a box in our lives, that bombards us (in our personal space) with brands and commercial messages. So I love this fridge which eliminates all of that and goes for color, shape and space.

posted by Greengrassbluesky on July 18th 2008 at 9:44am
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I can understand people doing this though; I often rearrange things into a more artistic presentation, things most people wouldn’t ever thing about. Although I can imagine in a fridge it would constantly need changing to look good lol, and in my fridge I would have to hide the ugly sears parts at the back to achieve any nice look

posted by timada on December 15th 2008 at 5:00am
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