So... anyone need a four-foot-tall can of Crisco?
Last week, Detroit-based artist Jerry Vile left a present for his recently bankrupt hometown -- a massive can of Crisco, placed under the Monument to Joe Louis, better known as The Fist.
Now the installation, titled “The Vessel of Hope” is up for auction on eBay.
At last check, the Crisco’s current bid sits at $560, with 12 currently vying for the giant can (and no, there’s no Crisco inside it).
“This piece represents my peaking as an artist,” Vile said on the selling page. “I am most likely never going to be able to do anything that gets the kind of attention or hits the nerve that this did.”
Vile added, “I guess I should thank the City Of Detroit for going bankrupt, but somehow that just doesn't sound right.”
Vile said the can showed some signs of wear and tear, but on his eBay post, he argued that makes the piece that much more... meaningful.
“It is banged up a bit by the city of Detroit rolling it when they had it removed from the street. There are some tears, but heck, that's like a bullet hole in an army canteen. It makes it better. It's less than a month old. It can refurbished by my team of expert experts. But why would you want to?”
Many Detroiters seemed to understand the not-safe-for-work message Vile was sending with Crisco right next to the fisted hand -- but the same can’t be said for Fox 2 Detroit, who asked their Facebook followers the meaning of the shortening’s placement.
“Wow. Apparently we’re a little naive,” the station said, after followers gave them the heads up.
- Melanie Kruvelis, Michigan Radio Newsroom.
