Handwork Brodé Main (Eat Art)

Do not eat (this cake is way past its sell-by date).

The yellow hue provides the clue: this artwork is here to stay. Dutch artist Karla Kaper made it in the 1970s. She was a real star back then.

Can you see the cake? It’s a real one! Back then, Karla Kaper made artworks from real sugar, sweets, chocolate and fondant.

Now, could it be a chocolate cake with raspberry?

‘Handmade/Brodé main’ is printed on the golden sticker underneath. Karla Kaper probably bought a handmade napkin and added the coffee cups and cake herself. The sticker is a pun from the artist.

Karla Kaper uses everyday products, mixes and matches them and then frames them.

An artwork that is completely or partly made from everyday objects is called Objet trouvé. Did you know it literally means found item? Art experts also call this type of art ‘ready-mades’. Items we use in everyday life that are simply art in their own right. They just need to be placed in a museum or gallery.

A funny and ironic detail here in the heart of the Dutch Bulb Region: there's an image of a tulip on this spoon.

When they saw this artwork, a colleague was reminded of Alice in Wonderland. Another colleague thought of an American diner. You know the kind, a simple restaurant on the highway. Still from When Harry Met Sally

The name Karla Kaper probably doesn’t mean anything to you. But in the 1970s, she was hot property. Her art could be seen in exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Even television shows highlighted her work.

Karla Kaper remembers: “It was the pinnacle of my career to have my work exhibited alongside Daniel Spoerri and Claes Oldenburg.” Did you know that there is an artwork by Daniel Spoerri in our collection? Spoerri is famous for artworks that capture the remains of meals. You have to see it to get it: Claes Oldenburg believed that art should be both useless and funny. You really need to see this with your own eyes too: What do you think? Does Karla Kaper fit alongside them with her artworks that include real food?