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Images › Lemonade 2003
Lemonade
2003
Fiberglass, urethane paint, water, buckets and fountain mechanism
68 x 96 x 36 in (173 x 244 x 91.5 cm)
© Bill Kleiman
Lemonade
Aggressively fake, citrus-textured fiberglass wall and floor elements covered with anthropomorphic lemon tips, spurt fountain streams into what appear to be randomly chosen and placed water-catching buckets.
The lemon tips are arranged to suggest a descending gradient of citrus/human maturity, with newer, suppler lemon tips on top and overripe, distended ones below. The number of fountain streams and sheer visual weight of the sculpture suggest that it is on the verge of rupture and collapse, even though the piece gradually reveals itself as a carefully planned, conventional fountain.
The plumbing is concealed beneath the gallery’s cement floor and hidden in a storage closet behind the wall displaying the piece.
A metaphorical play on the hackneyed adage “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade,” the piece examines the sometimes contradictory human responses to life’s challenges, ranging from makeshift improvisation to careful planning and from a willing acceptance of illusion to a more sober assessment of reality.