Velveeta Replaces Infamous Gold Cube In Central Park With ‘Liquid Gold’ Brick
Few works of art have been as polarizing to the meme-loving world as Maurizio Cattelan’s US$120,000 taped banana. Now, it seems to have met its match in the form of a 24K gold cube valued at US$11.7 million. The installation, set up right smack in Central Park, drew crowds as it made less-than-glowing headlines.
Although the cube was portrayed as a “sort of communiqué between an emerging 21st-century cultural ecosystem based on crypto and the ancient world where gold reigned supreme,” onlookers criticized its obscene opulence and the choice of location, considering that the site plays witness to poverty and homelessness. Further provoking the public was how the artwork had been flanked by bodyguards, implying its importance.
Any press is good press, they say, and people came by just to gawk at the hunk of solid gold. However, anyone who made the trip on February 3, the day after it was placed there, might have been sorely disappointed to learn that the cube had been replaced by a giant box of “liquid gold” by way of Velveeta.
Not to be forgotten for introducing gold (of the edible variety) into homes, Velveeta planted a brick 1,400 times the size of its original packaging at where the cube by German artist Niclas Castello once stood. The eight-foot installation was conceptualized by Alison Brod Marketing + Communications and brand agency VMLY&R.
LIQUID GOLD CUBE > SOLID GOLD CUBE. SERIOUSLY IT'S IN CENTRAL PARK GO CHECK IT OUT. https://t.co/AQqhqWuzPR pic.twitter.com/RmaxDtCpg7
— VELVEETA (@CheesyVelveeta) February 4, 2022
Sharing the news of the takeover, Velveeta declared on Twitter: “Liquid gold cube > Solid gold cube.”
Echoing this sentiment, a spokesperson for Alison Brod Marketing + Communications told PR Week, “While the Velveeta Gold Box might not be $11.7 million worth of ‘pure gold’—it certainly is gold in its own right, and we ask that all respect the drip.”
Alas, all good things must come to an end, including sweet dreams that are made of cheese. The Velveeta Twitter account later reported that the giant box had been “cheesesnapped” in what had been dubbed an “Ocean’s Shelleven” heist. The brand promises to give a year’s supply of Shells & Cheese to anyone with valid information about the container’s whereabouts.
MISSING: 1 GIANT VELVEETA BOX. COLOR: GOLD. HEIGHT: 8 FT. TASTE: CHEESY HEAVEN. LAST SEEN: CENTRAL PARK, NYC. REWARD: YEAR SUPPLY OF SHELLS AND CHEESE. YES, CHEESENAPPERS ACTUALLY STOLE IT, PLEASE SHARE. #BringHomeOurVel pic.twitter.com/xu7ZCTh2tC
— VELVEETA (@CheesyVelveeta) February 5, 2022
