Professor Butter Beard and “New York City 1”
“Just knowing that the world is round
Here I'm dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down?
Is this real or am I dreaming?” – Dave Matthews, musician
Would we actually know if we are upside down? Yup, that is one of those 3am thoughts when you wake from “Stranger Things” dreams, your stomach is still attempting to digest that second portion of pasta, and your hound is giggling in her sleep. I am a firm believer that is a very good thing to turn your mind upside down now and then, like the Wicked Witch’s hourglass, to let the dancing particles run the other way. But I still sometimes wonder if it is just a “Karma Trickster” holding us upside down in a valiant attempt to shake all the nonsense out.
About a year ago in the autumn of 2021, an Italian artist wrote to a museum in Düsseldorf, Germany, to share a nagging feeling he had about an abstract work that had been on display at the institution for decades. The artist, Francesco Visalli, had been researching the work of Piet Mondrian, the Dutch painter known for creating works featuring characteristic red, yellow, black, and blue lines intersecting to form a simplified New York cityscape.
The artwork in question was an unfinished piece titled “New York City 1” which was first shown in 1945 at MOMA in New York City and has been in the German collection ever since. “Whenever I look at this work, I always have the distinct feeling that it needs to be rotated 180 degrees,” Visalli wrote to a museum leader. “I realize that for decades it has been observed and published with the same orientation, yet this feeling remains pressing.”
According to the New York Times, Visalli also presented evidence to support his hunch: a photograph, from a 1944 issue of the American magazine “Town & Country,” that showed the work resting on an easel in Mondrian’s studio shortly after his death. Compared to how it hung in the German museum, the artwork was flipped upside down with the thickest grouping of lines at the bottom of the canvas. This scrumptious tidbit sparked art historians across the globe.
At a press conference for an exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of Mondrian’s birth, Susanne Meyer-Büser, German art historian and curator, announced that “New York City 1” had been displayed the wrong way for over 75 years. “The thickening of the grid should be at the top, like a dark sky,” said Meyer-Büser. “Once I pointed it out to the other curators, we realized it was very obvious. I am 100% certain the picture is the wrong way around.”
“Was it a mistake when someone removed the work from its box? Was someone being sloppy when the work was in transit?” the curator pondered. “It’s impossible to say.”
So…. The big question. Should the work be flipped? The surprising answer is no. According to the museum, the current condition of the artwork means that flipping it back to its proper orientation could do far more harm than good. “The adhesive tapes are already extremely loose and hanging by a thread,” Meyer-Büser said. “If you were to turn it upside down now, gravity would pull it into another direction. And it’s now part of the work’s story.”
All these thoughts about “the upside down” followed me into the kitchen. Working with some of my favorite holiday flavors including cranberries, fresh rosemary and ginger, and anything caramel, I re-imagined a classic fruit upside down cake. I love the Tartine Bakery’s brilliant idea of baking cakes in a loaf pan. The resulting jewel-like cake glistens in it “upside downness” and literally pops with holiday warmth. It makes me feel like I am “dancing on the ground – but am I right side up or upside down?” And honestly, who’s to say?
Cranberry Upside Down Cakes with Ginger and Rosemary
Three loaf cakes
Inspired by the Tartine Bakery
Fruit layer:
6 cups fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp fresh clementine zest
½ tsp fine se salt
Caramel layer:
2 cups dark brown sugar
8 Tbsp (one stick) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp water
Cake layer:
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
2 ½ cups plain Greek yoghurt
½ cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla paste
18 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2” pieces
1) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line three loaf pans fully with parchment paper.
2) In a medium bowl, lightly fold together the cranberries, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, zest and salt. Divide the seasoned berries between the three pans. Remember – they will flatten as they bake.
3) In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the caramel ingredients and bring to a light bowl, whisking until absolutely smooth. Pour evenly over the three pans of cranberries.
4) In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yoghurt, buttermilk and vanilla paste.
5) In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together the two flours, baking soda, salt and chopped rosemary. Stir in the sugar. Add the softened butter and mix on low until the butter is incorporated and the mixture takes on a sandy quality.
6) Keep the mixer on low and pour in the egg mixture. Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix until you have a smooth batter – about two minutes.
7) Divide the batter between the three pans and smooth the tops.
8) Bake for one hour until the cakes are set and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Remove the cakes and let cool in their pans on a rack for 30 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a parchment-lined sheet and remove the pans and parchment. Let the cakes cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
