The 12-metre ceramic pavilion "Wedding Cake" by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos

The 12-metre ceramic pavilion "Wedding Cake" by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. The present day. Waddesdon Manor in the English county of Buckinghamshire, property of the Rothschild Foundation.

The author calls her work a building, an immersive sculpture.

At first glance it appears a rather striking structure, especially against the background of today's talentless mass-produced architecture, but look closer and the cake resembles some thrifty trinket, a mediocre pastiche. Like a Chinese copy of some genuine pavilion. Look at these stunted putti, at the unlovely proportions of the metal railings, at the clumsy arrangement of commonplace ceramic figures. No composition, no draughtsmanship; it has simply been slapped together anyhow, relying on the general low level of the public's aesthetic demands.

To be honest, three years ago for my birthday I ordered a richer, lovelier and more intricate cake, and that without any Rothschild sponsorship.

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The 12-metre ceramic pavilion "Wedding Cake" by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos

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