Name/Title
Kitchen Still Life series - Pollo Ripieno al Canale di AmoreEntry/Object ID
2019.13Description
Oil painting of three dead birds and a white rabbit bearing its teeth. All four animals lay against a blue fabric background. Gold frame with Pollo Ripieno al Canale di Amore in the bottom center of frame.Context
The history of still life painting in art dates back to Egyptian funerary drawings, but is a tradition that has continued into contemporary art history as well. Grounded in classical composition, light quality, and the subject matter of 17th century European still life painting, specifically vanitas, Laurie Hogin’s work Pollo Ripieno al Canale di Amore provides a terrifying alternative to the genre. Historically, the vanitas paintings displayed the grandiosity and opulence of aristocratic kitchens and table settings, with their exotic game and gilded dinnerware. Instead, as an environmental activist, Hogin points out the social parables in nature caught in the midst of an indulgent human civilization. The title Pollo Ripieno al Canale di Amore, translated literally is stuffed chicken at the channel of love.Acquisition
Accession
2019.13Source or Donor
Victoria Burns, Steven BurnsAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Victoria and Steven BurnsInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionTranscription
stuffed chicken, loval canal styleType
SignatureTranscription
Laurie HoganType
DateTranscription
c. 1992Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PaintingNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsGetty AAT
Concept
still lifes, visual works (works)Hierarchy Name
Visual Works (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name)Facet
Objects FacetLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Environmental art, Vanity, Water pollution, Chemical industryDimensions
Dimension Notes
(framed) 22.75 in. x 26.87 in. x 2 in.Dimension Notes
57.78 cm. x 68.26 cm. x 5.08 cm.Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Object LabelLabel
Laurie Hogin (American, b. 1963)
Pollo Ripieno al Canale di Amore,
from the series Kitchen Still Life, 1992
Oil on panel
Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of
Victoria and Steven Burns, Los Angeles, 2019.13
In this painting, Hogin draws upon the style of seventeenth century European still life painting and vanitas, which portray objects that symbolize mortality, to make a statement on pollution and the environment. The painting’s title literally translates to “stuffed chicken at the love canal.” It imagines a chicken that is suffering from the impact of an incident in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagra Falls, New York, in which the massive amount of pollution from years of chemical waste dumping resulted in the declined health of hundreds of area residents. Rather than portraying the grandiosity and opulence typically associated with vanitas paintings, Hogin points out the social consequences of nature caught in the midst of an indulgent human civilization. The incident resulted in the federal creation of the Superfund law which helps investigate and cleanup sites contaminated with toxic substances.