Transformation

Transformations, changing one thing into another thing. At its basic elements, from nothingness, to life, to fertilizer is the original transformation process. In art there is the idea of transformation were the artist takes an object and makes a new object from it, not just plant food. Well, in some instances the artist does both, takes something dead and makes it into art while it becomes fertilizer (the Vivarium in Seattle) or stops the fertilization process (the corpse exhibit).

But I digress.

In this assignment we were asked to take found objects and transform them into artworks. Your humbly inspired narrator took a lonely, discarded, outdated text book and reused it to make a soup boul. I then filled the newly created soup bowl with vegetarian alphabet soup, placed it on a serving tray, and figuratively offered to spoon feed the vegetarian education (it had no meat) to the viewer.

A lot of consideration went into the design and execution of this concept. What book to use? How to present it? And so on. Originally I was going to use an EDUCATION book and simply place it on a stand and call it good (once transforming it into a bowl that is), but was unable to A) find such a book for $1.99, and B) considered the audiences perceptions and rethought the presentation. After scouring the numerous second hand stores at St. Vincent De Paul’s on Broadway, I bought three books: a sociology book, and education book, and an American history book. I also bought a wicker serving tray, matching silverware set (red, because its art), and a vase (long a or short a is up to you).Of the three books I ultimately chose the sociology book.

The next consideration was what to use in the bowl. I originally was going to have a breakfast display and use Alphabet cereal. But they no long distribute Alphabet cereal to Idaho. You can by it on Amazon for $24 a case though. So I settled for Campbell’s soup.

After playing around with a few smaller details, the rest is history. The only improvement I should have considered harder was to use red, white, and blue flowers to specify American Education.