Benefit Plate

2010
Installation

Benefit Plate examines the tradition of customization as applied to automobiles, barbecue pit trailers, and tailgating culture in general. Often carried out within limited means, customization aims to improve performance while adding personalized style. Benefit Plate explores the cross-cultural aspects of this practice with an emphasis on the common desire of practitioners to out perform predecessors and each other, to push customization to its extremes, frequently at the expense of practicality. The exhibition includes two paintings, Puke 1 and Puke 2, both of which depict an animated greenish wave filled with partially ingested consumer and food products. In addition, a cedar fence surrounds the main sculpture referencing the backyard as a site where such customization often takes place.
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