I was driving through Montclair (NJ) on some errands, when I noticed these snowballs propped up like some kind of installation art on a busy street corner. I pulled over and hopped out of my car to snap a picture, and I don’t necessarily think they’re just there as preparation for a snowball fight. It made me think of the 1983 “street action” piece by David Hammons, which he titled “Bliz-aard Ball Sale,” in which he laid out a series of snowballs on a blanket in front of Cooper Union next to other street peddlers. If you’re curious, you can read more here.
In honor of Black History Month, please learn more about David Hammons here. Hammons is a significant artist whose work reflects his commitment to the civil rights and Black Power movements and includes sculptures made from the “highly charged detritus” (quoted from MoMA) of urban African American life, including hair gathered from barbershop floors, chicken bones, bottle caps, and basketball hoops, among other things.
