Parents always tell their children not to play with food, but these artists are breaking rules by using food as the inspiration for their artwork. At the “Food for Thought” art exhibition in the East Lansing Technology Innovation Center, 325 E. Grand River Ave., artists explore different mediums to show how food affects everyday life.
“Art shows what’s best about humans … their creativity, soul, technical ability and imagination,” said Kelly Boyle, artist coordinator. “With the subject of food, it allows artists to show this off because there can be many interpretations of it. It can be harmful and a temptation. It allows artists to enhance life.”
From 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, the exhibit was open to the public, and until Feb. 5 the exhibit is available for viewing Monday through Friday during regular business hours. “Food For Thought” features the work of 17 different artists who used photography, soft sculpture, collage and watermedia to relate to food.
Featured artist Bobbie Margolis, has four pieces in the show and she works mainly with soft-sculpture, which is a type of sculpture using cloth, fibers and other textures. Her soft-sculptured pieces included three large, realistic-looking cookies and a small box of soft-sculptured cookies accompanying a milk glass and collaged pieces, called “Zero Trans Fat,” as a tribute to the idea of Santa Claus and the holiday spirit.
“Textures inspire me,” she said. “My soft-sculptures include cardboard, and I stretch canvas and other fibers over them. It takes three hours for the little ones, and quite awhile for the big ones. It’s something I love to do and manipulate.”
Her artwork also included photography and collage, and she said she was inspired by her time as a teacher and also her grandmother.
“Kids love to see how life can relate to art,” she said. “I have a love of teaching art, and enjoy seeing it applied practically for students. It’s why so much of my artwork is fun. It’s not for money; it’s for myself, and fun.”
Boyle said art is important for life even though it can be taken for granted at times. She said the main point of the exhibit is to bring more traffic into the area and each exhibition enlivens the feeling in the otherwise sterile office.
“The building is just another spot for artists to display their work,” she said. “It enhances the feeling of life for those who work in the office. Without these pieces the space would feel so empty and dull.”
On Sunday there was also a can drive which will be donated to the Greater Lansing Food Bank, and a tin-can decorating activity was available to attendees. Lansing resident Jim Bertru decorated his own tin-can to get in the spirit of the event.
“People come here to see the art, and (decorating the can) just adds a little value and fun to the exhibit,” he said.
Rick Foster, an Okemos resident and husband of one of the artists, said the exhibit can really appeal to students in terms of unique holiday gift shopping.
“Students who are looking for presents for their parents would be surprised at how cheap everything is, and everything is an original,” he said. “The artwork is so colorful and unusual, you walk by and say, ‘Wow.’”
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