Stocked Brings Grocery to Gallery

Friday, Sept. 20 – Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013, Faulconer Gallery

"Stocked: Contemporary Art from the Grocery Aisles," curated by Emily Stamey ’01, brings the grocery store to the gallery.

"Stocked" compiles the work of contemporary artists who take the grocery store and consumption of its products as their subjects. Shopping carts, candy wrappers, grocery lists, paper bags, milk bottles, and cereal boxes — these ordinary, often overlooked items emerge as objects for artistic investigation.

Stamey, associate curator at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, explains how her interest in grocery stores began: "It stemmed from both a scholarly interest in pop art and a personal interest in food. I loved the idea of a project that would focus on the common denominator of grocery shopping — an activity that all of us, regardless of gender, class, or race has experienced."

The result? An exhibition that presents the work of contemporary artists who keenly and cleverly interrogate the grocery items we purchase, the environments in which we shop, the social frameworks we encounter there, and the cultural norms that inform our habits of consumption.

Related Events

Faulconer Gallery is hosting the following events related to “Stocked”:

• Sept. 20 – Dec. 15: Faulconer Gallery will hold a food drive for donations to Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA).
• 4:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20: Emily Stamey, associate curator, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, will introduce the exhibition.
• 5:15 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20: Opening reception. Refreshments will be served.
• 12:15 p.m., Mondays and Thursdays: Yoga in the gallery with Monica St. Angelo for beginners and experienced practitioners. Co-sponsored by Live Well Grinnell. Mats are provided.
• 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 24: Doug Hess, assistant professor of political science; and Rachel Porath, county director, MICA, will provide local, state, and national perspectives on issues of food security.
• 4:15 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26: "Full House: Pop Art, Domesticity, and Consumer Culture." Christin Mamiya, associate dean and Hixson-Lied Professor of Art History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will address the consumer culture of the 1960s and how pop art developed.
• 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12: All ages welcome to the gallery's Community Day. Tour exhibitions and enjoy exciting, interactive, hands-on activities. Refreshments will be served.
• 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29: Artist Scott Blake will talk about his work with barcodes, including "I Am What I Eat," featured in "Stocked."
• 4:15 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7: Roundtable discussion and reading with Camille T. Dungy, author of "What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison," and professor of creative writing, San Francisco State University. Co-sponsored by Writers@Grinnell and WOW! Wonder of Words Festival.

"Stocked " is open through Dec. 15. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, and admission is free.

The exhibition is organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas. The exhibition has been generously supported by the Lois Kay Walls Foundation Trust, Spirit AeroSystems, Delta Dental, Richard D. Smith and Sondra M. Langel, and additional private sponsors.