Mask by: Yuka Oyama.
Photos by: Becky Yee
The largest Carrot-Art Collection in the world is looking for a new home.
For over 40 years, artist Jeff Chiplis of Cleveland, Ohio, has cultivated the world’s largest assemblage of carrot bags and carrot-themed paraphernalia, carefully catalogued and lovingly maintained.
Unfortunately, says Chiplis, this massive artistic confluence honoring the flavorsome root vegetable has outgrown its current display environment in his home and would be better served in a more formal museum or gallery environment.
“Most commercially-sold carrots are retailed in plastic produce bags that feature unique local brand names and individualized artwork,” he says. “As I traveled around the country in the 1970s, I started keeping the most colorful bags, then mounting them as an in-house exhibit.”
Within a few years, Chiplis’ collection grew exponentially, as word of his curious hobby circulated throughout artist and collector networks and friends from around the globe sent him carrot bags from their region. Excerpts from the collection have been showcased numerous times at festivals, conferences and galleries across North America.
Currently, the Chiplis Carrot-Art Collection comprises more than 1,000 distinct small-size carrot bags (1, 2, 3, 5-pound) and more than 200 carrot sacks in 25- and 50-pound units.
In addition, there are hundreds of carrot-themed gift items including jewelry, books, posters, comic books and all manner of kitchenware and objets d’arts.
Overall, it is an impressive Americana time capsule, a fascinating look at a vibrant advertising art genre combining whimsy and kitsch.
Chiplis is offering to gift the entire collection to a responsible collector or exhibit venue. “Ideally, it should remain intact,” he says. “It would be perfect for an institution — a school, museum, gallery, agriculture department — as a forum for study and scholarship, plus an opportunity for casual public viewing.”
Selections from the Chiplis Carrot-Art Collection may be viewed at www.carrotmusem.co.uk/
