At SFMOMA, we like to get in the Halloween spirit by hosting an annual pumpkin decorating contest. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you the competition can get pretty ripe, thanks in large part to the creative energy and quick wit of our colleagues.
This year, we invited our broader SFMOMA community to participate in our festive shenanigans. After 20 pumpkins, four days of voting, and a nail-bitingly close race, SFMOMA has crowned the winners of this year’s competition.
Take a look at the picks of the patch below, and Happy Halloween from SFMOMA!
1st place
(Not) Another Pumpkin
“A fall take on Tatiana Bilbao’s tower, on view currently on the 6th floor landing!”
2nd place
Notorious
“As always, the Notorious RBG speaks for herself! Rest in Peace”
Take a look at this year’s glowing contenders below (in no particular order), and thank you for voting!
SFMOMA Database Still Life (RIP Embark), 2020
"Mixed media on sofa"
Pumpkin Purell Hand Sanitizer
"Due to the Coronavirus, Pumpkin Purell Hand Sanitizer is in high demand and quantities are limited. If the item is OUT OF STOCK, we will re-stock as soon as we receive product from the manufacturer. Sorry for any inconvenience, please know our essential workers are serving the community during the pandemic. ~ Your Community Store"
Scare Crowds
"She's a modern day scarecrow, sans a mask, to keep the crowds away from my house and frighten the children who no longer remember what the bottom of people's faces look like. Homemade papier-mâché pumpkin on the chicest homemade scare crow in the Mission."
Still Pumpkynns
"This is a painting by the modern master Clyfford Still, recently unearthed in the basement of a haunted art museum in Transylvania."
Notorious
"As always, the Notorious RBG speaks for herself! Rest in Peace"
Prized Pumpkin Princess
"Hiii!!!My name is Zemora and I'm a week away from being 6 months old!! I like to smile, giggle and eat. My mommy likes to sew and she made my costume!! I never want to take it off and have already fallen asleep in it. I am a pumpkin now...."
In Space No One Can Hear You Scream
"A tribute in pumpkin to the iconic Xenomorph and the best horror movie of all time - Alien."
Surfin' USA
"Photo of surfer sculpture with scarf and decaying pumpkin head, defaced stop sign, and blue skies. Rotten and hopeful."
The Hunger Game
"Extremely voracious type of pumpkin, doesn't mind devouring other ones. Night hunter."
Breathable Nightmare
"It is an escape from COVID-19."
Surprised Pumpkin
"This pumpkin is bewildered. That’s understandable considering what he’s been through."
Pumpkin Painting/Yes Painting, after Yoko Ono
"Homegrown pumpkin, black ink, hand-held magnifier. Inspired by Yoko Ono's 1966 installation Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting. Viewers had to climb a step ladder and hold up a magnifying glass up to read a tiny inscription 'YES' on the ceiling. John Lennon experienced the installation and was impressed. The rest is history."
Portrait of a Pumpkin
"Pumpkins are so beautiful: their form, their color, their surfaces. The are a miracle to behold and tasty to eat when baked."
(Not) Another Pumpkin
"A fall take on Tatiana Bilbao's tower, on view currently on the 6th floor landing!"
Teeter Totter [Pumpkin] Wall
"Based on Rael San Fratello's Teeter Totter project, which will be on view this coming year"
How It Started...How It's Going...
"This is 2020."
Pumpkin Shoot
"An Homage to Chris Burden"
Mask-O'-Lantern
"This pumpkin puts the "Eeeee!" in PPE."
Seize the Halloweens of Production (Rise of the Pumpkintariat)
"Nothing is scarier than late-stage capitalism."
I love you warts and all, for Alex / Pumpkin / 2020 / On loan from the Stalica Pumpkin Collection
"My sister picked out this pumpkin at the patch and – let's be honest – got some side eye for her selection. Because she loves this pumpkin so much and because I too believe that it is uniquely beautiful, I felt this pumpkin deserved a submission for its untouched (and un-retouched) beauty."
