{"id":19446,"date":"2015-11-02T14:19:14","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T20:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=19446"},"modified":"2015-11-05T15:39:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T21:39:00","slug":"pumpkins-become-canvases-for-decaying-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/pumpkins-become-canvases-for-decaying-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Pumpkins become canvases for decaying art"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ashley Altus<\/p>\n

After carving away layers of pumpkin to create jack-o\u2019-lantern sculptures, Edward Cabral<\/a>\u2019s pumpkin masterpieces \u00a0can\u2019t be preserved. And that\u2019s how he likes it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything you make as an artist, whether it be a painting or a pumpkin, it\u2019s going to turn to dust eventually – in the grand scheme of time,\u201d Cabral said. \u201cTo make something and to assume that\u2019s its permanent is kind of silly. I just love to speed up that process.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Cabral carved Michael Jordan jumping over the skyline of Chicago into a 100 pound pumpkin at the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile hotel<\/a>.\u00a0 He worked at the perfect place – just outside of Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse Chicago, a popular hot spot in the hotel. Hotel guests looked on in awe to watch as he sculpted several pumpkins throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\"Venus\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
One of Cabral’s favorite pieces was his replication of Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus that took him about 16 hours to carve. (Edward Cabral)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Michael<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/figure>
\"Cabral\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Cabral wears gloves to protect his hands from the acidity of the pumpkins when he carves (Ashley Altus\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n
\"Michael<\/a>
Cabral carved Michael Jordan’s silhouette on a 100 pound pumpkin in front of Michael Jordan’s Steak House Chicago. (Ashley Altus\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cabral got started in pumpkin carving when he moved to Louisville on a whim after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. For the past three years he has been working at the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular Louisville<\/a>, an art show held in the woods with 100 intricately carved pumpkins as well as 5,000 illuminated pumpkins.<\/p>\n

Even though he has moved back to Chicago, he still travels to Louisville for two months every year to work 18 hour days carving everything from pumpkin faces to pumpkin-memorialized moments in history\u00a0 – like the first moon landing<\/a>. Cabral said his \u201creal-person job\u201d when it\u2019s not pumpkin season is working as a cake sculptor for catering companies and other clients.<\/p>\n

He said he is fascinated by art that can\u2019t be archived and it allows him to improve his form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can focus more on my technique and my craftsmanship as opposed to going back and fretting over something I made 3 years,\u201d Cabral said.<\/p>\n

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