Exhibit provides food for thought through images of hunger and abundance
For some Americans, food is so abundant that leftovers or unused items are pitched into their trash. For others — including one in five people living in Franklin County — food insecurity is a fact of life.
This disparity, along with issues pertaining to the family farm, farm factories, food relief programs and more are considered by 15 artists whose work is on view through Sept. 24 at the Ohio Craft Museum. “Food Justice: Growing a Healthier Community Through Art,” an exhibit organized by Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, presents works in a variety of mediums by national and international artists.
The works are intriguing, thought-provoking and often, very beautiful.
Minneapolis artist Anna Metcalfe produced a gorgeous set of dishes in “Pop-up Pollinator Picnic.” Her bee-themed plates are hexagon-shaped and adorned with fruits and vegetables. Some are displayed on the wall and others are packed in wood crates carved with bees and beehives.
In one of her two quilts, Patty Kennedy-Zafred of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, presents old-timey portraits of farmers on feed bags, with accompanying text noting the change in America’s family farm: In 1900, half the United States population lived and worked on farms compared with 2% today. One-third of today’s farmers are over the age of 65.
That today’s food source is far more “factory to table” than “farm to table” is echoed in the whimsical pewter and sterling silver sculptures of Conway, South Carolina, artist Logan Woodle. “The House Built on Chicken Legs” is a humble shack positioned on top of one big chicken leg.
Joan Iverson Goswell of Valencia, Pennsylvania, opts for satire in her small book, “Dick and Jane – A Time of Disparity.” While one set of the book’s pages delivers a story with the old grade-school characters, the flip-side pages relate the food insecurity that plagues the less fortunate. In the text accompanying her piece, she quotes comedian George Carlin who credits those with “good intelligence and sensitivity” for feeling anger at “a nonsensical set of values where we have cinnamon-flavored dental floss and there are people sleeping in the street.”
Among the installation pieces are two big and striking efforts.
“Transition Denied” by Mollie Ruskin of Brooklyn, New York, and Xena Ni of Washington, D.C., comments on a 2016 computer snafu that left thousands of Americans without their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Hundreds of strips of receipts from Safeway, Target, Walmart and other stores – all with “transaction denied” stamped in red – are hung from the ceiling.
“Hydroponic Community Garden,” a project by Wendy DesChene and Jeff Schmuki, both of Auburn, Alabama, presents collard greens growing from ceramic cylinders, along with the information that a hydroponic garden uses 300% less water and grows 150% faster than gardens in soil.
The works in this exhibit have obvious agendas. But in addition to pointing out discrepancies in food availability and harmful farming practices, the artists often offer solutions through some clever and nicely designed works.
Metcalfe, the creator of the bee-themed dishes, writes, “I believe that craft has a special role to play in drawing attention to land, water and agriculture in our contemporary struggle to protect our natural resources.”
At a glance
“Food Justice: Growing a Healthier Community Through Art” continues through Sept. 24, at the Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. 5th Ave. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. Call 614-486-4402 or visit www.ohiocraft.org.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Food Justice' exhibit runs through Sept. 24 at Ohio Craft Museum
