University Times

What do the pyramids of ancient Egypt, an apple on a podium by Yoko Ono and Pope Julius II's support of Michelangelo during the Renaissance have in common? The answer will be on display in the gallery of Hanley Library on Pitt's Bradford campus (UPB) for one week beginning March 24. It will appear in the form of a pyramid constructed out of 45,600 Hostess cupcakes with a veneer of Hostess Sno-Balls.

According to Jack Sheffler, UPB art history instructor and the brains behind the project, the unusual pyramid is a way to teach different eras of art history. Through the cupcake pyramid, Sheffler is able to combine the pop art movement of the 1960s, evident in such things as Ono's apple and Andy Warhol's Campbell soup cans, with the ancient Egyptian art form of the pyramid.

"We're covering the pop art movement at the moment, so it ties in well with that part of the class," Sheffler explains.

The Renaissance, when great artists such as Michelangelo and Leonard Da Vinci were supported by wealthy patrons like Pope Julius and the Medici family, enters the picture through the donation by Interstate Brands, owners of Hostess, of cupcakes and Sno-Balls to build the pyramid. "I wanted a grant sponsor like during the Renaissance when you had a patron," Sheffler says. "My patron for this project is the Hostess Co., a pop icon of America. Basically, it is my Sistine Chapel." Gaining the support of Interstate Brands required the exchange of a number of letters, drawings and telephone calls with the company's home office in Kansas City, Mo.

One of the main concerns of Interstate Brands about the project was the ability of the cupcakes, which will form the bulk of the pyramid, to withstand the weight of such a huge structure. The pyramid is designed to fill the gallery of Hanley Library. Sheffler said he wanted to make it large to avoid the image of a supermarket display and to give it more of a presence, like the real pyramids.

Sheffler proved that the cupcakes could hold the weight, as long as they are kept in their plastic cups and wrapped in their cellophane package, by building a model and placing 5-lb. bags of sugar on it. After seeing the results and building a pyramid of its own, Interstate Brands agreed to supply the snack food. According to Sheffler, the project will cost the company about $10,000, but that might be one of the best investments it has ever made. Along with the University Times and the Bradford Era, the Associated Press and "The Guinness Book of World Records" also have expressed interest. There has been so much interest, in fact, that Interstate Brands' public relations director is planning to set up shop in Bradford for the entire week of the display.

Construction of the pyramid will be done by students in UPB's humanities and theatre departments. The pyramid will be torn down after a week and the cupcakes and Sno-Balls given away to members of the campus community, Bradford residents, local hospitals and charities. "I wanted it up a month initially because I've built these at home and they dry out really nicely and are wonderful stacking," Sheffler says. "But if the public is going to eat them, they only have a two-week shelf-life." Snack foods is not a new medium for Sheffler. He has been creating works of art out of such things as crackers and candy for about 15 years. He began using snack food because he wanted to create a pop image reminiscent of the 1960s and the Dada movement from around the time of World War I, when French artist Marcel Duchamp would do such things as put a shovel or a urinal on display in an art gallery.

Among future snack food projects Sheffler would like to do is a series of portraits of world leaders using Necco Wafers.

–Mike Sajna