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Food: Virtual Refrigerator Magnet Museum
 History
Little is documented about the origin of refrigerator magnets. That is,
we didn't find any information during our five minutes of searching the
web. However, it's safe to assume that they didn't exist before metal
refrigerators. This probably would have been around the early 1920's,
when refrigerators (as opposed to ice boxes) began to be marketed.
Displaying your own
collection
We recommend using a refrigerator. The one at right, proudly mounted on
cement blocks, is a particularly fine example. This collector has actually
moved his exhibit away from the wall and into the center of the kitchen
so as to better showcase it.
Keep in mind that it isn't necessary for the refrigerator
to actually work in order to create an effective display. For the purposes
of exhibition, one can pick up a bargain refrigerator at a charity shop
or the local dump. To conserve floor space, one can also remove the doors
from refrigerators and mount them on a wall. In a pinch, other metal objects
such as filing cabinets and motorcycles will work, or one can simply panel
a wall with sheet metal.
Assembling your own
collection
Readimade magnets are available at online, at junk sales and almost all
stores. Most are tacky. You can also make
your own. Almost anything can become a refrigerator magnet, provided that
it's smaller than the refrigerator and is light enough to be suspended
by copious numbers of magnets.
The Tacky Living Collections
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Pop Art
"Of or pertaining to carbonated
beverages; uses commercial or popular themes as its subject matter."
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A quintessential pop art example, this magnet
is indispensable for the opening of pop bottles or cans, particularly
for those concerned with breaking fingernails.
This example has experienced deterioration
and is in need of immediate conservation. Note the chipped plastic
on the magnet's righthand side and faded metallic gold daisies.
Otherwise, this a fine piece.
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This magnet makes a deliciously ironic
statement about the connection between society's obsession with drinking
chocolate milk and its watching TV. The simple, rich colors and graceful,
fluid forms exemplify the experience of spilling a thick, frothy glass
of chocolate milk on an expensive couch. |
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A sly blend of sophistication and naiveté,
this magnet combines intriguing French text with that universal
dieting icon, the scale.
A wonderful example of the "dieting
guilt" theme condensed into in a small package.
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Vintage 70's.
One of the few examples of poly-methyl-tetra-
fluoro-ethyl-ene-meth-terephthal-tetra-fluoro-propyl -ethylene-acryl-phthalate
still in existence. Very rare, very remarkable.
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| This item is made of a particularly
odd plastic coated with a shiny chrome-like material. The surface
scratches easily, making it appropriate for casual household use.
Its bold Christmas holiday theme is somewhat unusual among magnets. |
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The tongue-in-cheek nature of this
tiny map is enhanced by the fact that the Hollywood icon is depicted
as being near San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge is displaced
north by approximately 400 miniature miles. |
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Naive
"Naive Art can be characterized
by the freedom from the constricting need to represent life with
any kind of objective accuracy ..."
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The delicate crazing of the stoneware glaze
is characteristic of those pieces that have been knocked down repeatedly
by overweight parakeets or which have been hurled at cement walkways.
The designer of this magnet, as with the
cow at right, made the erroneous assumption that people wish to
be reminded of the original form of the food that they eat.
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Mass produced by the cheapest possible means.
Note the bold copyright mark in lower righthand corner, which mars
the magnet's appearance.
Still has original bells; in exceptionally
fine condition.
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| Homemade. An outstanding example of
naive art made in an area of limited resources. Materials, presumably
procured from a small dime store smelling of mothballs, include plastic
canvas and coarse acrylic yarn. |
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This piece is executed with flat, somewhat
somber colors which allow it to be positioned for sale as a nostalgia
item, thus commanding a ridiculously high price. |
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| An edgy example portraying a fantasy
theme, this magnet combines unlikely colors with hints of a biological
or post-apocalyptic genetic engineering atrocity. Particularly coveted
by prepubescent females. |
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Anthropomorphism
"Of or pertaining to the
unexpected wearing of clothes or exhibition of other human characteristics."
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A homemade, uniquely 20th century work.
Its creation would have been impossible without the development
of mass produced googly eyes and synthetic pom poms.
Note the simplicity of line, the vibrance
of colors.
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This piece combines the "rebel
teenager" icons of sunglasses and a skateboard with the cuddly
softness of a Teddy Bear. No doubt it is intended to appeal to aging
females who wish their teenagers were cuddly again. |
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| Benignly accepting of their ultimate
fate - being diced and thrown in a stew pot - these remarkable plastic
creatures continue to serve the family by loyally attaching bad grade
reports to the refrigerator. |
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Baroque
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| "Laughlin, Nevada". The iridescence
in this example highlights the commercial importance of latter 20th
century thin film technology. |
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What plumbing has to do with plums,
we shall never know. However, if you need this company's services,
your plumbing is presumably baroque. |
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Photorealism
"An art movement that began
in the late 1960's, in which subjects are rendered with a hard,
photographic precision"
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| Andromeda Galaxy - "Wish you were
here!" |
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