contemplating the void: interventions in the guggenheim museum solomon r. guggenheim museum, new york february 12th to april 28th, 2010

ball nogues studio’s ‘marvel at the manufacture of the world’s largest pulled candy sculpture!’

for their contribution to the ‘contemplating the void: interventions in the guggenheim museum’ exhibition, ball nogues studio carefully consider the guggenheim museum spatially and programmatically, recognizing the institution’s unique sequence of inter-connected galleries and ramps, as an architectural form well suited for adaptation as an industrial manufacturing assembly line. they suggest converting frank lloyd wright’s masterwork rotunda into a contraption for transformating raw, organic sugar cane into a delectable candy confection cum art installation – an industrial expo that is both easy to eat and delicious. their proposed re-use is acknowledgment of the imperative of architects to shape and carefully appropriating and preserving the noted structure, while adapting it economically and functionally using new green technologies and systems – that wright designed the structure, to suit this pressing, contemporary need is proof that form follows function.

ball nogues studio: world's largest pulled candy sculptureupclose look at the manufacturing system of the pulled candy machine

ball nogues studio: world's largest pulled candy sculpturesteps 0 through 9 of the manufacturing system

the great ginormous united candy show! witness the breath-taking & sustainable process of sugar cane production! the most delicious exhibition of art & know-how the world has ever consumed!

0) bring the kids to plant sugar cane cuttings! 1) under the world’s most advanced UV lighting system, observe the cuttings growing into mature sugar cane plants which are then harvested to become refined sugar 2) sugar cane leaves removed from their stalks 3) witness the cuttings hoisted into mid-air for processing while the unused leaves are sent to the scorching furnace to become fuel 4) cane stalks crushed and shredded with mechanical dexterity 5) world’s most powerful juice squeezers extract pure sugar distillate while dried cane residue is miraculously converted to fuel to fire the searing furnaces 6) filtration, boiling and crystallization of the juice 7) in an astounding feat of industrial muscle, the raw sugar is lifted to another floor for more processing and pigmentation 8) spectacularly vibrant pigments are added to the refined sugar 9) the only machine of its kind in the world – the sugar-mater pull prepper converts sugar into syrup then magically folds the hardening syrup; the mixture never comes into contact with human hands

ball nogues studio: world's largest pulled candy sculpturesteps 10 through 12 of the manufacturing system

10) watch as the pigmented syrup is pumped to the one of a kind, numerically controlled robotic sugar pulling machine – patented and custom designed by ball nogues for this exhibition only 11) in an astounding feat of mechanical prowess, the sugar pulling machine will spiral along the hand rail of the museum’s rotunda pumping and rebeating the sugar until the most exotic shapes in pure sugar are achieved 12) marvel at the sculpture that is also the world’s largest piece of delectable candy at the great show of sugar! ball nogues studio: world's largest pulled candy sculpture