The entire state dinner that President Ford gave for Queen Elizabeth will be recreated in a formal setting for 20 by artist Robert Gottleib on the lawn of the University of Chicago Quadrangle at noon on Friday, July 16.
The diners will be able to watch the video-taped progress of the original meal on a video monitor centerpiece.
Says Gottlieb, “The event demonstrates what we choose—or are forced—to watch.”*
The meal, served elegantly by waiters, will last nearly three hours.** The event is part of the art exhibition Space Transformation by Sally Fisher. Her large hollow wooden cube is the focus of invited artist’s activities: they work within the cube or deal with the space it occupies. Gottlieb’s dinner table for 20 will begin in the cube but extend well beyond it.
Annotations by the artist added after the event:
*”what we choose—or are forced—to watch”: a bit strong, I think. The people involved (one way or another) seemed to enjoy it—and I myself learned a good deal which will be of use in the future.
**lasted about 4.5 hours
