Artist Mika Rottenberg solves the mystery behind maraschino cherries, apparently

′′Mary's Cherries′′ (2004) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] How are maraschino cherries made? According to Mika Rottenberg’s “Mary’s Cherries” (2004), they are apparently made from red fingernails. The almost six-minute-long video nonsensically explores the fictional story behind the red, syrupy fruit that tends to be inseparable from cocktails or milkshakes. It stars a group of excessively bulbous women in bright, pastel uniforms who work together in a factory-like setting. As the story goes, the nails are grown — or “harvested” — clipped with scissors, crushed, and then voilà — they’ve now been transformed into the sweet treats. Related ArticleHaegue Yang takes 30 years of art to London for first survey showMire Lee's latest flesh-filled art installation takes over Tate Modern's Turbine Hall ′′Finger′′ (2019) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] “Mary’s Cherries” is now on view at Rottenberg’s first Korean solo exhibition “NoNoseKnows” at Storage by Hyundai Card, an exhibition space located in Itaewon, central Seoul. Rottenberg was featured in the Busan Biennale in 2022, and has exhibited her works worldwide at the Museum Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in Illinois; New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The absurd tale of the cherries represents the 48-year-old Buenos Aires-born, New York-based artist’s fascination with production labor and her exploration of how products are made behind the scenes. ′′Untitled Ceiling Projection′′ (2018) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] “It’s about thinking how things accumulate value and the kind of fiction that capitalism creates around objects, and how they are often quite far from the real way that they’re made,” Rottenberg said during a press conference at the exhibition on Monday. In her videos or kinetic sculptures, which she calls “visual poems,” she distinguishes between the artificial and the natural. The maraschino cherries are the former, due to their processed nature, and the fingernails are the latter, due to how the human hand is considered the primary tool of labor. Another topic of interest to Rottenberg is the female body, hence why the women in “Mary’s Cherries” display ridiculously voluptuous physiques. “I was interested in casting women that were already advertising themselves online,” Rottenberg said, adding that the reference alludes to objectification and empowerment at the same time “in the way that they retain ownership of their own bodies.” ′′Lips (Study #3)′′ (2016/19) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] ′′NoNoseKnows′′ (2015) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] The exhibition is a survey of Rottenberg’s work from the past two decades, including the titular 22-minute video “NoNoseKnows” (2015) and her latest “Lampshare” series. Scenes in “NoNoseKnows” alternate between a white woman in New York with a bulky, prosthetic nose who continuously sneezes out pasta dishes, and a group of women who extract pearls at a factory in China. The video work was previously shown at the Venice Biennale. If “Mary’s Cherries” was completely theatrical, “NoNoseKnows” is a mix of both fiction and documentary, suggesting that the underlying reality of human labor might not be so different from Rottenberg’s comical fabrications. “Lampshare,” comprised of mushroom-shaped lamps made from recycled plastic, like detergent bottles, collected from the streets of New York City, is Rottenberg’s way of presenting alternatives amid global warming. ′′Lampshare′′ by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] The series began as the artist’s attempt to make objects that would bear even the slightest positive ecological footprint. In these practical sculptures, the artist incorporated actual vines, which are known to be an invasive species because they strangle tree trunks to death. It’s ironic because from the outside, the way they grow is beautiful, a discrepancy also similarly found in production labor, Rottenberg said. “NoNoseKnows” continues until March 2 next year. Storage by Hyundai Card is open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays. Its hours end at 6 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. General admission is 5,000 won ($3.60). BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]

Artist Mika Rottenberg solves the mystery behind maraschino cherries, apparently Published: 22 Oct. 2024, 16:49 Updated: 22 Oct. 2024, 16:56 SHIN MIN-HEE shin.

[email protected] Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI ′′Mary's Cherries′′ (2004) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] How are maraschino cherries made? According to Mika Rottenberg’s “Mary’s Cherries” (2004), they are apparently made from red fingernails.

The almost six-minute-long video nonsensically explores the fictional story behind the red, syrupy fruit that tends to be inseparable from cocktails or milkshakes. It stars a group of excessively bulbous women in bright, pastel uniforms who work together in a factory-like setting. As the story goes, the nails are grown — or “harvested” — clipped with scissors, crushed, and then voilà — they’ve now been transformed into the sweet treats.

Related Article Haegue Yang takes 30 years of art to London for first survey show Mire Lee's latest flesh-filled art installation takes over Tate Modern's Turbine Hall ′′Finger′′ (2019) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] “Mary’s Cherries” is now on view at Rottenberg’s first Korean solo exhibition “NoNoseKnows” at Storage by Hyundai Card, an exhibition space located in Itaewon, central Seoul. Rottenberg was featured in the Busan Biennale in 2022, and has exhibited her works worldwide at the Museum Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in Illinois; New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The absurd tale of the cherries represents the 48-year-old Buenos Aires-born, New York-based artist’s fascination with production labor and her exploration of how products are made behind the scenes.

′′Untitled Ceiling Projection′′ (2018) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] “It’s about thinking how things accumulate value and the kind of fiction that capitalism creates around objects, and how they are often quite far from the real way that they’re made,” Rottenberg said during a press conference at the exhibition on Monday. In her videos or kinetic sculptures, which she calls “visual poems,” she distinguishes between the artificial and the natural. The maraschino cherries are the former, due to their processed nature, and the fingernails are the latter, due to how the human hand is considered the primary tool of labor.

Another topic of interest to Rottenberg is the female body, hence why the women in “Mary’s Cherries” display ridiculously voluptuous physiques. “I was interested in casting women that were already advertising themselves online,” Rottenberg said, adding that the reference alludes to objectification and empowerment at the same time “in the way that they retain ownership of their own bodies.” ′′Lips (Study #3)′′ (2016/19) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] ′′NoNoseKnows′′ (2015) by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] The exhibition is a survey of Rottenberg’s work from the past two decades, including the titular 22-minute video “NoNoseKnows” (2015) and her latest “Lampshare” series.

Scenes in “NoNoseKnows” alternate between a white woman in New York with a bulky, prosthetic nose who continuously sneezes out pasta dishes, and a group of women who extract pearls at a factory in China. The video work was previously shown at the Venice Biennale. If “Mary’s Cherries” was completely theatrical, “NoNoseKnows” is a mix of both fiction and documentary, suggesting that the underlying reality of human labor might not be so different from Rottenberg’s comical fabrications.

“Lampshare,” comprised of mushroom-shaped lamps made from recycled plastic, like detergent bottles, collected from the streets of New York City, is Rottenberg’s way of presenting alternatives amid global warming. ′′Lampshare′′ by Mika Rottenberg [HYUNDAI CARD] The series began as the artist’s attempt to make objects that would bear even the slightest positive ecological footprint. In these practical sculptures, the artist incorporated actual vines, which are known to be an invasive species because they strangle tree trunks to death.

It’s ironic because from the outside, the way they grow is beautiful, a discrepancy also similarly found in production labor, Rottenberg said. “NoNoseKnows” continues until March 2 next year. Storage by Hyundai Card is open from 12 p.

m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesdays to Saturdays. Its hours end at 6 p.m.

on Sundays and holidays. General admission is 5,000 won ($3.60).

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected].

kr].