Mai Dang Lao (McDonald's)
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
In Mai Dang Lao (McDonald’s), a hamburger box, fries container, fork, and knife are cast in bronze and adorned with traditional Chinese motifs like the taotie mask, typically featured on ancient ritual bronze vessels used in worship of the ancestors. Here it is combined with the iconic logo of the fast-food giant, transforming the “Happy Meal” into a Shang-dynasty artifact. The Asian American artist Zhang Hongtu, a leader of the Political Pop movement in contemporary Chinese art, lives in Queens, New York, after emigrating from China in the 1980s. By creatively juxtaposing ancient China with contemporary America, and ritual art with consumer culture, Zhang whimsically critiques systems of power.
Caption
Zhang Hongtu Chinese, born 1943. Mai Dang Lao (McDonald's), 2002. Cast Bronze, box of fries: 7 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (18.4 × 12.1 × 5.7 cm) hamburger box closed: 3 1/2 × 4 5/8 × 4 3/4 in. (8.9 × 11.7 × 12.1 cm) fork: 1 × 3/4 × 6 3/16 in. (2.5 × 1.9 × 15.7 cm) knife: 5/8 × 1/8 × 5 13/16 in. (1.6 × 0.3 × 14.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 2014.82a-d. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2014.82a-d_PS9.jpg)
Collection
Collection
Artist
Title
Mai Dang Lao (McDonald's)
Date
2002
Medium
Cast Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
box of fries: 7 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (18.4 × 12.1 × 5.7 cm) hamburger box closed: 3 1/2 × 4 5/8 × 4 3/4 in. (8.9 × 11.7 × 12.1 cm) fork: 1 × 3/4 × 6 3/16 in. (2.5 × 1.9 × 15.7 cm) knife: 5/8 × 1/8 × 5 13/16 in. (1.6 × 0.3 × 14.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Accession Number
2014.82a-d
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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