An Alumni Show

If you happen to be in Northern VA this Thursday, check out the new George Mason University student/faculty run gallery Point in Space, along with the opening of An Alumni Show. I have to images and one installation up (see posts below)... just a sampling of what I have been working on lately. Unfortunately I can't make it down for the opening, as I have class that afternoon, but the show will be up for at least a month, if not more.

Hanging Prints for An Alumni Show

This image, borrowed from the Point in Space Gallery blog shows my prints being hung near my flour installation. Thanks to everyone for your hard work getting everything ready for the show! I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help set up.

photo by Shannon McCarty

White Flour - Installation

The following images show my first attempt at creating an installation related to food. The installation is on display at Point in Space Gallery for the month of April, along with "American Cheese" and "Wonderbread." I drove down to VA last weekend and installed the flour, however as you can see, the walls of the gallery were not yet painted, so I was unable to hang the images while there.

If you look at my previous post "Wheat/White Flour," my goal was to recreate these images in a three dimensional form. However, I was unable to get a hold of bulk wheat berries in time, so the white flour is standing alone. In the future, I plan to display both types of flour side-by-side, for the sake of comparison.

Winter Walkthrough

Still Lifes

Wheat/White Flour

Wonderbread and American Cheese

The Food Pyramid

100 Soup Cans, After Warhol

Detail Image:

The Consumption of a Still Life

During fall quarter, I began to research the history of a still life. As a result, I put this short stop-animation clip together for a video class during fall quarter. Since this project, I have continued to draw upon 17th century Dutch still life paintings.

I Am What I Eat

Okay, I am finally going to start posting to my blog. To begin with, I will post samples of work in progress that I have been doing since last fall, when I began the MFA program at RIT.

My work is centered on a critique of processed American food. To provide some background, I grew up eating a typical American diet that included foods like Oreos, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, candy, American cheese, and fast food. However, as I approached adolescence, my family became educated about proper nutrition, and we began to make changes in our diet. In school, I learned about the health problems caused by hydrogenated oils. And I learned how to read nutrition labels, so that I could avoid foods with harmful ingredients. Searching for the best way to eat in a culture of processed foods, I underwent a series of dietary experiments. I tried being vegetarian, vegan, and then I returned to eating meat. I have come to the conclusion that the best diet is filled with organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meat.

I began my time at RIT by photographing everything that I eat, in order to demonstrate my relationship with food. The result showed that I eat a very simple, repetitive diet. My peers describe my diet as healthy and disciplined, though by no means are my eating habits perfect. My objective in the creation of this project was simply to let the viewer know from where I am coming as an eater. As I continue to educate myself about nutrition and the American food industry, my diet continues to change.

Below is a video that shows everything that I consumed between the dates of 9/25/08 - 11/09/08.