G-4 Vessels for the Kool-Aid Ceremony

Buller Room 251

I will be discussing my latest series of teapots, “Vessels for the Kool-Aid Ceremony”, which have been included in national juried exhibitions such as Hot Tea, and The Teapot Redefined. I will also unpack “Problem Girls” a sculpture that won “Best of Show” at the Michiana Annual Art Competition, and the “ACLU Award” at ArtPrize. The teapot series, “Vessels for the Kool-Aid Ceremony” concerns the Meta stories in our visual culture. These stories are now primarily derived from commercials, advertising, and product tie-ins from movies and television. While a typical person a few hundred years ago could have probably told you the stories of a dozen saints, and been able to identify them, our culture today is far more adept at identifying brands, or pop icons with only partial visual information. This series of work seeks to jar the viewer into seeing some of those images in a new way. I have “branded” my pieces with multiple trademarks, mascots, and logos. These brands form new brands, and create a new narrative for each piece. These works are meant to look like future relics from our age of hyper capitalist visual culture.