Interview: Liz Hickok

Matthew Barney’s MOMA show last year was really hard on SFist. Why? We could BARELY refrain from prodding his Vaseline and resin art. Well, it seems like this is one temptation we’re gonna have to keep working on. The show opening tonight at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts includes work by local artist Liz Hickok, whose medium of choice is… (drum roll for first ever SFist award for artistic genius in choice of medium).. JELLO!. Actually, you’ve probably heard tell of Hickok’s San Francisco cityscapes made entirely of Jello. If not, watch the video re-enactment of the 1908 earthquake here. Hickok makes special molds for each structure and then casts them in Jello, lending a temporality and gushiness to her art that we find especially appealing. Check out her show tonight.. and don't worry, you won't have to resist the temptation to touch and taste-- Hickok will be displaying photos and and video, no live jello tonight Read on for answers about Jello and Hickok’s tour of the Bay Area.

Why Jello?
It actually started because I had been photographing scale models that other people had made. I’ve been a photographer for a long time. I was in Havana shooting and came across this beautiful scale model of Havana. It was fun to photograph because it turned a neat old model into something new, and I could mess with the perspective, so you couldn’t quite tell if it was real. In grad school it made sense to make my own cities that I would photograph, as opposed to things that other people had made. I was thinking about materials to use.. I’ve always been drawn to saturated light and I thought about resin, but it’s toxic, expensive, and difficult to use. Jello became this perfect alternative to resin, for practical reasons (user friendly, but with the same colors and translucence). Other benefits came along with it. That’s how I stumbled upon it.. I thought of it because of the food element. It made sense to have my art revolve around food.

Do you do anything special to the Jello in building your cities?
I typically do use Jello Brand (I buy it in large bags). The only thing special is I use the jigglers recipe w/ a lot less water. It’s firmer and holds together. I coat the molds with Pam, pretty much the same way other people use Jello

What’s your favorite (edible) Jello dish?
I’ll eat it occasionally when I’m making it, if there are scraps sitting around. I do have a sweet tooth but I don’t typically make it just for the hell of of it. I did make it for New Year’s Eve. I made an amazing Champaign lemon Jello that we cast into the trans America building for an Iron Chef type party where everyone had to use Champaign. We won.

Any plans to recreate any scenery of Utah, given that Jello is their official state food?
I do not have it on my agenda at this moment, but if Utah approached me, you never know

Semi Solid art seems to be the new medium (think Matthew Barney, you etc.).. why?
I think it has to do with the temporary nature of things and realizing environment around us is not permanent. Also looking at things as being more fragile than we realized in past. Also there is the exploration of new materials. Artists are always investigating new ways to redefine art and use new materials. Vaseline is something not too many artists have used in the past. Re-inventing materials can have all these new meanings. For me it’s a lot abut the temporary nature for of ground we stand on..

Any advice for aspiring artists out there?
Making art with food in San Francisco seems to be appropriate with so many people who love food here. More realistically, getting connected with other artist in the community and curate your own shows with other artists.