Design in mind

Is it a statement on homophobia, or on meat-eaters, or on the Slow Food movement? Choose your own interpretation of Stephanie J. Carter's 2009 pseudo-edible sculpture "Coming Out Vegetarian to My Parents." It's fashioned from colored pound cake and a poured hard-candy shell (pictured at right).

Whatever the piece means, I smelled it before I saw it, which is always interesting in an art gallery. The work is currently part of the "Design Unassigned" exhibition on campus.

The thought I had, helped by the sickly-sweet odor and the unappetizing colors, is that whenever you sit down over a family dinner to break something gently to your parents (0r children), it rarely goes the way you want. Emotions run high, your stomach flips, and even the choicest food turns chalky in your mouth.

Or, this could represent a wary parent's idea of what his poor newly vegetarian daughter will be reduced to eating from now on.

Strolling through the exhibits regularly put on by the design students always yields unexpected results. This show, which runs through April 25, also features Danika Patrick's playing cards made from recycled soda cans and auto paint; and Paul Braun's modern, sand-cast aluminum take on the traditional Chinese hot pot.

In a dark corner, John Hollendoner's topographic map of Mount Rainier gleamed in acrylic. A silvery mountain, not something you could climb, perhaps more at home in outer space. It's amazing how kids see the world these days.




Pictured above: John Hollendoner's Mount Rainier sculpture. Behind it is Matt Freshman's 2008 "Acrylic Illuminated Object," which changes color. Photos by Rebecca Wallace.