A BIOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAN SNOW GLOBE: FROM MEMORY TO MASS PRODUCTION, FROM SOUVENIR TO SIGN Anne Hilker Prof. Marilyn Cohen, Thesis Advisor Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the History of the Decorative Arts and Design MA Program in the History of the Decorative Arts and Design Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution; and Parsons The New School for Design 2014 © 2014 Anne K. Hilker All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………1 CHAPTER I. A MATERIAL HISTORY OF THE SNOW GLOBE…………………....6 CHAPTER II. THE SNOW GLOBE AS OBJECT OF MEMORY…………………….27 CHAPTER III. THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE SNOW GLOBE: COMMODIFYING, COLLECTING, SUBVERTING……………..…57 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..79 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……………………………………………………………..ii BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………….…………..……..92 ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………….……….111 i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Eiffel Tower snow globe, 1889. Image from blog, My Favorite Things!, entry dated Dec. 15, 2011, crediting the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, http://myfavoritethings- conniemotz.blogspot.com/2011/12/1889-paris-exhibition-snow-globe.html, last visited April 19, 2014. 2. Bernard Koziol’s view out the back of his Volkswagen “Beetle,” circa 1950. “The Story of the Dream Globes,” posting on Company Koziol website, undated, http://www.snow-globe.com/history_snow_globe.htm, last accessed October 3, 2013. 3. Florida day/date snow globe, entry on Flickr.com, June 29, 2009, https://www.flickr.com/photos/thriftedsisters/3673223886/, last accessed April 19, 2014, picturing globe of structure similar to that appearing in Moore and Rinker, Snow Globes, 48. 4A, B. Baccarat Silhouette Squirrel Cane Paperweight, side and top views, iGavel auctions, posted June 14, 2012, http://www.igavelauctions.com/category/sale- highlights/page/2/, last accessed April 19, 2014. 5. “Rodney,” pictured in Celeste Olalquiaga, The Artificial Kingdom, color plate 1 following p. 84, photograph © James Worrell, 1997. 6. Jacques de Gheyn the Elder, Vanitas Still Life, 1603, Netherlandish, Antwerp. New York City, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, oil on wood, 32 ½ in. x 21 ¼ in. (82.6 cm. x 54 cm.). 7. “Magnifying glass ball on stand,” circa 1800, France, 23 in. x 8 in. (58.5 cm. x 20.3 cm.). Los Angeles, the Getty Research Institute. Pictured in Stafford and Terpak, Fig. 6, p. 22. 8. “Berlin Tut Gut” [Berlin is Good for You] snow globe, Schneekugel mit Wahlwerbung der Grünen "Berlin tut gut,” Museum der Dinge, Ding des Monat Oktober 2013 [Snow globe promoting Green Party, Object of the Month, October 2013], pictured in McMichael, Snowdomes, 9. 9. Gump’s Buddha Water Globe,” offered on Gump’s department store San Francisco website, 4 ½ in. diameter, 5 1/2 in. h., undated but currently available, http://www.gumps.com/p/gump-s-buddha-water-globe, last accessed April 19, 2014. 10. Screen shot from Orson Welles, director, Citizen Kane (1941), RKO Pictures. 11. Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Bébé Marie), early 1940s, pictured in Hartigan et al., Joseph Cornell: Shadowplay/Eterniday, No. 8, p. 66. ii 12. Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Pink Palace), 1948. Sculpture: wooden box containing photostat with ink wash, wood, mirror, plant material, and artificial snow, 8 5/8 in. x 14 1/4 in. x 4 3/8 in. (21.91 cm. x 36.2 cm. x 11.11 cm.). San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art [SFMOMA]. 13. Man Ray, “Snowball,” 1927, pictured at the Man Ray Trust website, http://www.manraytrust.com , “Objects,” last accessed September 30, 2013. 14. Screen shot from Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, Hitler: A Film from Germany (1978), Part I, posted Dec. 27, 2012, by CelticAngloPress on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M8aMvT35ys [no longer posted due to copyright violations], last accessed April 19, 2014. 15. “Marie Antoinette Snow Globe,” shown at time of purchase and following drainage of liquid, Celeste Olalquiaga, The Artificial Kingdom, p. 64, both images courtesy of the Bergstom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin. 16. New York Police Department World Trade Center snow globe, currently available, NYFirePolice.com, http://www.nyfirepolice.com/nypd_snow_globe.asp, last accessed April 19, 2014. 17. Liliana Porter, still from digital video film, Fox in the Mirror (2007), at lilianaporter.com, http://lilianaporter.com/individual.php?sectionId=6&section=video&pieceId=309&title= Fox%20in%20the%20Mirror&currentImage=3_Fox_in_the_Mirror_07.jpg&pageNo=1& orderBy=date, last accessed April 19, 2014. 18. Takashi Murakami, DOB in a Strange Forest, one of set of three, multimedia sculpture, fiber-reinforced plastic, resin, fiberglass, acrylic and iron work, 60 in. x 120 in. x 60 in. (1999), information provided from Christie’s auction house, Nov. 12, 2008, http://www.thecityreview.com/f08ccon1.html, last accessed April 19, 2014, image at http://home.hiwaay.net/~tfharris/pulpculture/columns/031127.shtml, last accessed April 19, 2014. 19. Mark Soppeland, Idiots, snow globe, 1993, and caption. Image and caption courtesy of the artist, © 2013, Mark Soppeland. All rights reserved. 20. William Harroff , The Black Hole, snow globe, 1996. Image courtesy of the artist, © 2013, William Harroff. All rights reserved. 21. Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, The Well, snow globe, 2004, 9 in. x 6 in. x 6 in., martin-munoz.com, http://www.martin- munoz.com/recent/thewell.html , last accessed April 19, 2014. iii 22. Thomas Doyle, Subsidence, Distillation Series, mixed media, 68 in. x 118 in. x 48 in., installation at Museum of Art and Design, New York City, 2011, thomasdoyle.net, http://www.thomasdoyle.net/distillation/, last accessed April 19, 2014. 23. Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, Untitled (Night Falls Series), 2012, c-print, http://www.martin-munoz.com/recent/indexNIGHTIMES.html, last accessed April 20, 2014. 24. Snow globes at Heathrow Airport, June 15, 2013 (photo by author). 25. Snow globes at Manchester, U.K. Airport, September 11, 2013 (photos by author). 26. Snow globes at Helsinki, Finland Airport, June 22, 2012 (photo by author). 27. Snow globe in Upper East Side gift shop, New York City, globe approximately 2 ½ in. diameter, April 9, 2014 (photo by author). 28. TSA warning disallowing snow globes in hand luggage on airplanes. Image from posting on Patrick Smith, Ask the Pilot, blog archive, “TERMINAL MADNESS: What Is Airport Security?”, http://www.askthepilot.com/essaysandstories/terminal-madness/, last accessed April 19, 2014. 29. Camryn Forrest, Point of View, snow globe, 2012, image posted at “Point of View (snow globe),” Camryn Forrest Designs, June 12, 2012, http://camrynforrest.com/2012/06/12/point-of-view-snowglobe/, last accessed April 20, 2014. 30. Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarves snow globe, c. 2012, image at eBay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/DISNEY-VINTAGE-SNOW-GLOBE-SNOW-WHITE-AND- THE-7-DWARFS-SEE-DETAILS-/251503118833, last accessed April 19, 2014. 31. “Present Time Wanted Red Heart Shaped Glitter Square Snow Globe Photo Frame,” http://www.amazon.com/Present-Time-Wanted-Shaped- Glitter/dp/B004FTQKM4/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_d_1 [no longer available but still pictured], last accessed April 20, 2014. 32. LigoranoReese “History of Art” snow globes, 2011, examples from 20 different globes, black base and acrylic text, 7½ in. h. x 6 in. diameter, edition of 50 each, signed and dated by the artists, currently available at ArtwareEditions.com, http://www.artwareeditions.com/product_p/ligo11.htm , last accessed April 20, 2014. 33. Maison Martin Margiela snow globe, 2010, 6 ¾ in. h. x 9 in. w. (17 cm. x 23 cm.); pictured at http://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/388287 [no longer available], last accessed April 20, 2014. iv 34. Museum of Modern Art [MOMA], New York City, “Snow Globe Ring,” 2005, available at http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=1 0451&langId=- 1&categoryId=26693&parent_category_rn=26690&productId=13733&keyWord=Snow %20Globe%20Ring&purpose=crawl (currently backordered), last accessed April 20, 2014. 35. Kotur snow globe clutch, resort season, 2013, pictured at http://modaoperandi.com/kotur/resort-2013/accessories-726/item/gold-glitter-snow- globe-clutch-98920 [trunk show ended], last accessed April 20, 2014. 36. MAC cosmetics “Snow Globe” eye shadow line marketing, 2011 (image no longer available), partial image available at The Black Market online blog, posting dated October 18, 2011, http://blackmarketmag.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/beauty-addictions- mac-ice-parade/, last accessed April 20, 2014. 37. Screen shot from online game “Fallout: New Vegas,” picturing snow globe, “Fallout: New Vegas Snow Globe Guide,” posting by Daniel Acaba on GamesRadar, online blog, June 23, 2012, http://www.gamesradar.com/fallout-new-vegas-snow-globe-guide/, last accessed April 20, 2014. v 1 “What happened once upon a time happens all the time….”* INTRODUCTION Today’s snow globe: seen through plastic resin, bits of glitter drop through thickened water to rest on Sleeping Beauty’s injection-molded palace, its “real” counterpart situated in a Disney theme park. Some call it kitsch, or worse. Yet behind this construct lies the story of a unique combination of form and materials pervasive in American culture for more than one hundred years. The snow globe is timeless and ubiquitous, growing in popularity even as it shrinks to meet the restrictive rules of travel in a time of terrorism. The few who have given it attention range from enthused collectors to twentieth-century cultural critic Walter Benjamin. This thesis explores the snow globe’s resonance and endurance within the larger framework of material culture. As a material object, the snow globe offers an active, and singular, optic and haptic experience for eye and mind. It evokes childhood memories and connects its owner to life events of time and place. It also allows glimpses of imagined cultural Quotation from Elyse Frishman, ed., Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur: Shabbat, Nontransliterated, Shabbat Evening I, V’shamru, 45 [163] (New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007).