Wk 9 – Artist Interview – Sculpture Program Group Exhibition

There were many unique, abstract and meaningful pieces in the galleries this week. There was an exhibition about suicide and the effects it has on others. That exhibition consisted of a room filled with tooth-like particles laid throughout the floor. A note was the only thing on the walls. A note from a friend to a friend that had committed suicide. I thought that was very deep and meaningful to the artist and possibly to others.  I felt like the piece was so heartfelt and personal to the artist that it needed to be spoken about, at least briefly. The piece that I could find most meaning in was a sculpture with McDonald’s food and religious candles.

mcdonalsThis piece immediately put a single word in my mind upon viewing it, death, in regards to food being the source, bad food particularly. The food spoke for itself. McDonald’s has become so large throughout the world it now has become a symbol for all fast food restaurants. They are all unhealthy for the consumers and have very controversial food. Many people have written articles and made movies about McDonald’s and how our bodies react to its food. Many blame fast food restaurants for the obesity epidemic. Obesity and unhealthy eating habits are connected to deaths throughout the United States. It leads to heart disease, diabetes, and many other diseases. To me, it was clear that the food gathered up in the piece was a stab at the fast food industry and painted it in a bad light.

Another element of this sculpture that lead me to concluding that it was blaming the fast food industry foreligiouscandlesr killing people were the religious candles. Religious candles are frequently seen at death sites and they are symbols of grief. Candles are generally lit when deaths occur in order to mourn the loss of a loved one. Light is pure, it nourishes life, it brightens darkness, which is why many light candles. People tend to leave religious candles at the site of an accident when a death occurs, along with picture of the deceased, posters, flowers, stuffed animals. In the piece, the McDonald’s food is the site of the candles. It seems as though this unhealthy food is the cause of a death that has occurred. This piece seems more of a political piece making a stab at the fast food industry, accusing it of being the source of numerous deaths.



Leave a Reply


WordPress.com Logo


Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s