The good, the bad and the completely eggsellent.

April 5, 2007 11:40 AM

The 2007 State Easter Eggs: Since 1994, each state and Washington DC has selected an artist to paint an Easter Egg representing them for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
The eggs themselves are gaudy and beautiful, inscrutable and fantastically artistic. Some state's submissions are better than others.
And then there's Wyoming.
posted by JeremiahBritt (55 comments total)

I like the Wyoming egg (and yes, I realize it wasn't done by anyone from the state).
posted by drezdn at 11:45 AM on April 5, 2007

Very cool post but the interface, it burns!
posted by TungstenChef at 11:45 AM on April 5, 2007

"Asked her opinion about the 'Wyoming' egg on display at the White House, [Camellia] El-Antably [deputy manager of the Wyoming Arts Council] said, 'I note that most of the other eggs, there's some real thought put into how they represent the state. And we hope to see Wyoming represented with the same amount of thought in the future.'"

Hah-hah.
posted by ericb at 11:48 AM on April 5, 2007

South Carolina's is kind of cool, but also lame, backwards looking, and kind of slavery-related. So it sums up our great state quite nicely. Cool post.
posted by ND¢ at 11:50 AM on April 5, 2007

Some of these states hired artists to do customized egg designs that would seem overdressed in Zsa Zsa Gabor's closet. Meanwhile, Wyoming asks the secretary's daughter to pull out her magic markers. Love it.
posted by miss lynnster at 11:51 AM on April 5, 2007

The Wyoming Egg is to the White House Easter Egg Hunt as Sanjaya Malakar is to American Idol.
posted by ericb at 11:51 AM on April 5, 2007

Kansas: Ceci n'est pas un oeuf.
posted by phaedon at 11:53 AM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

The Wyoming egg is my favorite since it's the only one that acknowledges how silly an endeavour this egg decorating thing really is. geez...
posted by garethspor at 11:54 AM on April 5, 2007

Somebody's going to have to explain Rhode Island to me.
posted by phaedon at 11:56 AM on April 5, 2007

Rhode Island: Putting the 'gau' back into 'gaudy.'
posted by Kattullus at 11:56 AM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Wyoming asks the secretary's daughter to pull out her magic markers.

Actually a male college student from Illinois decorated the 'Wyoming Egg.'

-- "A press release this week from the White House Office of the First Lady states that Philip M. LeDonne of Elmhurst, Ill., decorated the 'Wyoming' egg unveiled this week at the annual State Egg Display at the White House Visitor Center....So how did LeDonne, an Illinois college student, come to decorate the official Wyoming egg? ...'We turned to a college student to do that particular egg,' Bushway said of Wyoming. 'It was a process, we asked for recommendations from various people in our office. And that was the name that was chosen.'"

posted by ericb at 11:57 AM on April 5, 2007

Seems like it would have been intuitive to set up the website so that you could click through from one state's egg to the next. Guess not.
posted by amro at 11:58 AM on April 5, 2007

Somebody's going to have to explain Rhode Island to me.

The Rhode Island egg -- the Rhode Island Red breed of chickens.
posted by ericb at 11:59 AM on April 5, 2007

I really love these. Some of them are quite charming.
posted by MythMaker at 12:02 PM on April 5, 2007

Make way for ducklings?
posted by uncleozzy at 12:09 PM on April 5, 2007

You can also look at previous years (albeit with the same lousy interface):
2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002

2002's featured egg struck me as a bit odd to put in the original post.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 12:12 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't get the WV egg. Does that say "Ramp Dinner"?
posted by DU at 12:14 PM on April 5, 2007

Haha, PA 2006, HOAGIE ED in the house!

Fun post, thanks.
posted by The Straightener at 12:17 PM on April 5, 2007

I don't get the WV egg. Does that say "Ramp Dinner"?

Yes -- Ramp Dinners are part of Ramp Festials in WV. Lamps are wild leeks.
posted by ericb at 12:20 PM on April 5, 2007

Annual Ramp Festival.
posted by ericb at 12:22 PM on April 5, 2007

Whats up with NJ? it's all fuzzed out. I can think of many NJ jokes that could give the reason why it might be fuzzed out (XXX porn shot, Jersey City murder scene) but I'm from NJ, so I just won't go there.
posted by brinkzilla at 12:31 PM on April 5, 2007

Tennessee FTW.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:46 PM on April 5, 2007

Oh.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:50 PM on April 5, 2007

Aww, I feel bad that everyone's hatin' on the Wyoming egg. Sure, it's kind of crappy and tossed-off, but it's just so pathetic and fragile looking! Besides, it can't help that it's ugly! I want to pick it up and hold it to my breast to keep it warm and protect it, and to let it know that it's a fine little egg and special in it's own way, and that I like it just the way it is.

I guess what I'm saying is: lay off the egg, you bastards!
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:56 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

They should use those Easter Eggs to make an awesome cake.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:01 PM on April 5, 2007

Wow. Our Kentucky egg is woefully uninteresting (and a copy of our "Welcome To" signs...).
posted by Roman Graves at 1:14 PM on April 5, 2007

How can you look at that Wyoming egg and not feel happy? I don't get it.
posted by facetious at 1:14 PM on April 5, 2007

The Wyoming one is by far my favorite.
posted by ORthey at 1:35 PM on April 5, 2007

This was enjoyable.
posted by serazin at 1:35 PM on April 5, 2007

These are adorable. I had no idea that we had officially state sanctioned egg artists. What a glorious idea.
posted by mygothlaundry at 1:42 PM on April 5, 2007

aww, I love this post and the Wyoming egg gave me a good guffaw, which is nice on a snow flurrying day in April. Yikes, the NY one. It's a sort of heavy metal "birth of liberty" by Ziggy Attias. I wonder how the participants get chosen?

The Wisconsin crystal spangled one looks like a Fabergé wannabe.

Wonder if there are any Ukranian style or intricately, amazing carved eggs in the collection?

If the eggs were to be eaten, they could have used the excellent food coloring pens (good for writing on any food surface).

derail/video of peeling a boiled egg by blowing it out of its shell.
posted by nickyskye at 1:42 PM on April 5, 2007

This reminds me of the Pathway of Peace that's on the ellipse every Christmas. Every state (and territory & DC) gets a little tree that they decorate. There is always a wide range of artistic moods- some Wyomings, some Virginias.
posted by MtDewd at 1:43 PM on April 5, 2007

nickyskye: I'm gonna have to give that a try tomorrow.
posted by bashos_frog at 1:57 PM on April 5, 2007

I have to say that I prefer the Wyoming one. All the rest of the artists seem to have drawn on the worst kind of smarmy tourist trap gewgaws for their inspiration. The Wyoming one made me smile.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:06 PM on April 5, 2007

Dick Cheney claims Wyoming as his home state. The egg could have been worse, much worse.
posted by Cranberry at 2:17 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Maine's was almost as tacky as I was hoping it would be.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Oh geez. The 2002 NY egg is a... a very special snowflake. Yeah, I guess we had other priorities at the time, but I don't know if "Ice Capades of the Damned" was a good choice of theme. Seriously what is that?
posted by phooky at 2:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Wyoming A+++++

I think that egg sums up what that sort of art should look like, not silly gilded Elvis eggs.
posted by Salmonberry at 2:45 PM on April 5, 2007

BAM!
posted by ColdChef at 3:17 PM on April 5, 2007

How come Louisiana's egg features Chin Ho?
posted by miss lynnster at 3:49 PM on April 5, 2007

How come Louisiana's egg features Chin Ho?

Because they couldn't feature Emeril Lagasse, a proud son of Fall River, Massachusetts.
posted by ericb at 4:07 PM on April 5, 2007

Nickyskye: Wonder if there are any Ukranian style
How about Pennsylvania 2002, North Dakota 2002, Mississippi 2003, Nevada 2004, Arkansas 2005, North Dakota 2005 (bonus points for having the word Ukranian on the egg), or Colorado 2006. 2006 seems to have quite a few eggs in that style.

Carved: Maine 2002, Illinois 2002.

I think these are rather beautiful:
Wisconsin 2002, Wyoming 2002, Connecticut 2002, Colorado 2003, Illinois 2003, Hawaii 2004, Minnesota 2004, Kansas 2006.

There are a number that play cleverly on the broken egg theme, these are some nice ones: Michigan 2002, Mississippi 2002

And Florida 2002 is a dead flamingo, North Dakota 2003 has a drawing only a mother could love, Texas 2003 is competing with Wyoming '07, Delaware 2005 just isn't trying, Wyoming has done itself proud in the past, and Washington 2005 is gorgeous, but by a Hawaiian.

There are far too many beads, and the diorama-style ones all seem dumb.
posted by lostburner at 5:45 PM on April 5, 2007

I particularly commend the skifree tag. That's what I was reminded of as well.
posted by switchsonic at 6:46 PM on April 5, 2007

WTF, Phillip M. LeDonne?
posted by five fresh fish at 7:36 PM on April 5, 2007

And then having looked at everyone else's eggs, I have to withdraw that WTF on Phillip, else I'll have to WTF dozens of so-called artists. Some of that crap is hideous!
posted by five fresh fish at 7:41 PM on April 5, 2007

So who did all the past Wyoming eggs (some of which are quite nice)?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:42 PM on April 5, 2007

Nobody better be hatin' on the Montana egg -- it's beautiful.

And I like the Wyoming egg, too -- it's quite whimsical.
posted by davidmsc at 2:45 AM on April 6, 2007

You all think you're a bunch of eggsperts!
posted by acetonic at 4:12 AM on April 6, 2007

I'm kind of disappointed that the Vermont egg doesn't have antlers or maple syrup. *sigh* There's my home state, letting me down again.

I'm glad Rhode Island didn't disappoint. Go Little Rhody!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:57 AM on April 6, 2007

(I'm glad to see that at least the 2003 egg from Vermont had some frickin cows on it. For the love of Dog, my *birth certificate* has cows on it. I can't believe anyone got to export an official "State of Vermont" product sans cow, even if it was an Easter Egg.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:00 AM on April 6, 2007

Moo moo.
posted by ericb at 10:08 AM on April 6, 2007

Their eggs just don't stack up
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:28 AM on April 6, 2007

Wait, how did they dooo that?
posted by miss lynnster at 11:31 AM on April 6, 2007

In retrospect, though a cheeselover, I'm delighted that the Wisconsin one wasn't decorated like a thing of cheese, or wearing a Packers jersey or something.
posted by drezdn at 11:31 AM on April 6, 2007

omg lostburner, what a great job you did researching the Ukranian and cut-out style eggs! wow. Loved your opinions too. Dead flamingo, what were they thinking?!
posted by nickyskye at 8:20 PM on April 7, 2007