Chuck Ramirez photographed a golden plastic candy tray in his Candy Tray series (2002-2008). True to form, Ramirez often took on thrown-away or partially consumed things as his subject matter; the explicitly temporary object is one of Ramirez’s leitmotifs. Candy Tray holds the luscious color and shininess of commercial advertising, a connection that makes sense considering Ramirez’s early graphic design training.

Ramirez’ frequent choice of a glossy white background for his objects—and his posing of those objects—is crucial. Floating without a hint of shadow, the chocolate trays appear “hung” vertically and face-on, which isn’t how one usually sees such objects when they lay casually open on a table. The soon-to-be-disposed-of tray becomes an image of mystery. Casting off the common environmental accouterments associated with such objects, Ramirez placed his image within a context relative to the art world and thus to a rather different set of references and concerns than the everyday. The Candy Tray's golden color also recalls Byzantine and Medieval icons and, accordingly, Warhol’s 1962 Gold Marilyn Monroe. If Ramirez celebrates the impermanent, he makes the temporary object a permanent work of art.