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.


upclose look at the manufacturing system of the pulled candy machine


steps 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


steps 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!