Photography, Painting, and Food
The show addresses food and society from various perspectives, in line with a possible new use for the building as a center for local foods. The show is co-curated by Marcella Hackbardt, assistant professor of art at Kenyon College, and Kate Whitcomb, a Kenyon senior double-majoring in studio art and economics, and features works from more than twenty artists from Kenyon and the surrounding community.
"Food is at the center of contemporary issues ranging from health to ethics," says Hackbardt. "Food is necessary for survival, but eating also comes with psychological twists, including control and comfort."
Digital photography, painting, and sculpture will be on display at the show. The works presented in "Fresh" will examine food production, local farming, Knox County land use, and food marketing practices. For example, Alix Sugarman, Class of 2008, chose to give an inside look at the Ohio poultry industry. "I am incredibly interested in documentary photography," says Sugarman. She visited a processing plant and came away with photographs that "focus on the interaction between the staff and the production of the meat."
The exhibition was organized in cooperation with Kenyon's Food for Thought program, an academic initiative that explores issues surrounding agriculture and the world's food system, with an emphasis on Knox County.
The Buckeye Candy Company building, a Mount Vernon landmark, has historical ties to the food system. Plans are in the works to convert the building, a former grocery, candy, and tobacco warehouse built in 1911, into a center for locally grown foods. The building would include a distribution warehouse, community kitchen, and market for Knox County agricultural products.
The exhibition is supported by a grant from the McGregor Fund of Detroit, Michigan.