Photo: Velveeta
What’s better than gold?Cheese!
Days after German artist Niclas Castello’s massive gold cube made its appearance at New York City’s Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, Velvetta introduced on Friday an art installation of its own: a gold-colored 8 ft. box of the beloved cheese.
“LIQUID GOLD CUBE > SOLID GOLD CUBE,” the brand tweeted, alongside a video of the box, which is 1400 times the size of a regular Velveeta. “SERIOUSLY IT’S IN CENTRAL PARK GO CHECK IT OUT.”
The Velveeta masterpiece isn’t made from 186 kilograms of pure 24-karat gold like Castello’s box, nor is it worth the whopping $11.7 million his piece was said to be valued at. However, just like the cube, Velveeta’s box has its own security team.
“It might not be $11.7 million worth of ‘pure gold’ but it certainly is gold in its own right,” Velveeta said in a release, noting thattheirgold brick of cheese is known for its “velvety richness and cheesy, melty goodness” — which some would say is priceless. “We ask that all respect the drip.”
“The brand is all about encouraging people to be confident, unapologetically themselves, and constantly reminds us that you don’t have tolive rich to be goldenand lead a lavish, pleasure-filled life,” they added.
Cindy Ord/Getty
Castello’s cube — which weighs over 400 lbs., measures just over a foot and a half on all sides, and is only about a quarter-inch thick —made headlineswhen it appeared in Central Park on Wednesday.
“[The work] is a conceptual work of art in all its facets,” Castello toldArtNewsin a statement, adding that he was inspired to “create something that is beyond our world — that is intangible.”
In order to make the piece, gold was purchased at $1,788 per ounce. The cube was cast at a foundry in Aarau, Switzerland, in a special handmade kiln built to hold both the volume of the gold and the box’s large size. In order to melt the materials, high temperatures hitting at 1,100 degrees Celsius were also needed.
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After its trip to Central Park, Castello’s cube was showed off at a private dinner on Wall Street on Wednesday evening.
The cube helped promote a cryptocurrency called theCastello Coin, which is now for sale. An NFT auction is also scheduled for Feb. 21.
No word on whether Velvetta will be following suit in those areas as well.
source: people.com
