The artwork titled “Bliz-aard Ball Sale” is a performance piece created by David Hammons in 1983, associated with the Post-Minimalism art movement. In this genre-defining performance, Hammons challenges traditional notions of art and commercialism.
The artwork depicts the artist standing on a winter street corner, dressed in a long, dark coat and hat, against a backdrop of brick walls and a wrought iron fence. Before him, laid out on a red-patterned rug atop the snow-covered pavement, are an assortment of perfectly formed snowballs of varying sizes. The deliberate arrangement and careful crafting of the snowballs transform an ephemeral and often overlooked material into objects of art and commerce. This juxtaposition invites the viewer to ponder the value and purpose of art within society and the forces of commercialism that drive it. The presence of Hammons standing stoically behind his makeshift display embodies a transient marketplace, one where the products—snowballs—are bound by nature to melt away, challenging the permanence and commodification of artistic creations.
