I am thrilled to have three inlaid burnishing clay panels re-presenting grocery lists in this exhibition. Scroll down to see the amazing company my work gets to keep during this traveling exhibition!
Campbell's. Coca-Cola. Del Monte. Kellogg's. In the late 1950s and 1960s, these food conglomerates became household names as America witnessed a revolution in the production, retail, and consumption of grocery items. More and more, it was not raw ingredients one purchased, but packaged and processed foods that were chosen according to their labels and one’s perception of the brands they represented.
Campbell's. Coca-Cola. Del Monte. Kellogg's. These brands were also the subjects of the mid-20th-century pop artists. As corporations revolutionized the food industry, these artists turned the art world upside down by unabashedly depicting common consumer products, often using reproductive techniques and designs borrowed from commercial marketing.
Campbell's. Coca-Cola. Del Monte. Kellogg's. In the second decade of the 21st century, we still know these brands produce soup, sodas, fruit, and breakfast cereal. Yet, our present moment is markedly different from that of 50 years ago. Our grocery-shopping experiences now include computerized terminals, digital coupons, and products covered in labels highlighting nutrition content. Documentaries such as Food Inc., books such as Mark Bittman's Food Matters, and television programs such as Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution are but a few indicators that Americans are reconsidering what they eat, how they eat it, and even the sources of their food.
Stocked: Contemporary Art from the Grocery Aisles presents the work of contemporary artists who, directly and indirectly, take the grocery store and consumption of its products as their subjects. Using a variety of styles and media, they keenly and cleverly investigate not only the grocery items we purchase, but also the physical and psychological environments in which we shop, the individuals and social frameworks we encounter there, and the cultural norms that inform our habits of consumption.
Artists in the exhibition:
Sonny Assu
Scott Blake
Louis Cameron
Hillary Carlip
Adriane Herman
David Hilliard
Damien Hirst
Christian Jankowski
Julian Montague
Karyn Olivier
Lucy + Jorge Orta
Jonathan Seliger
Store Buyout: Matt Fidler, Jody Gnant, Hal Kirkland, Kyle MacDonald, and Gary Lachance
Brian Ulrich
Rachel Perry Welty
Andy Warhol
An 88-page, full-color publication of the same name accompanies this exhibition. Purchase online at www.ulrich.wichita.edu/marketplace or order by phone by calling (316) 978-3664.