Marshmallow Test
Amy Jorgensen’s Marshmallow Test is a reference to a well-known Stanford study on deferred gratification done in the 1960's. Children were given one marshmallow, which they could eat immediately, but were told if they waited a short time they could have two marshmallows. Using the photo booth aesthetic as a backdrop, Jorgensen reenacted the experiment one thousand times in an extended performance documented in a photographic installation. One thousand partially eaten pink marshmallows sit enticingly beneath one thousand polaroid-like photographs of the artist wrestling with temptation and self-control. Some marshmallows are half eaten, others nearly consumed, and some bear only bite marks. In this exploration of desire and restraint, Jorgensen records her decisions and process through mark-making and photographs.
Amy Jorgensen’s Marshmallow Test is a reference to a well-known Stanford study on deferred gratification done in the 1960's. Children were given one marshmallow, which they could eat immediately, but were told if they waited a short time they could have two marshmallows. Using the photo booth aesthetic as a backdrop, Jorgensen reenacted the experiment one thousand times in an extended performance documented in a photographic installation. One thousand partially eaten pink marshmallows sit enticingly beneath one thousand polaroid-like photographs of the artist wrestling with temptation and self-control. Some marshmallows are half eaten, others nearly consumed, and some bear only bite marks. In this exploration of desire and restraint, Jorgensen records her decisions and process through mark-making and photographs.
Marshmallow Test, installation, 2013, 1000 numbered pink marshmallows, 1000 numbered pigment prints