Cake-o-rama

Abstract

Using cakes as subject matter is a continuation of the food imagery I have drawn from in the past. Party cakes, especially, represent an excessive consumption at luxurious, festive gatherings. In a larger context, the cakes allude to a delirious atmosphere paralleling the vacant mentality promoted by the mass media in our culture. I direct this criticism through my work by creating the cakes with "flavors" - specific popular belief systems that "decorate" the cakes with satirical commentary. Thus, the super-saturated tiered cake with candle-crown and banner embodies the superficial idealization of a pageant queen. Because their hats are alike, the Pope and a Klansman share a cake in an uncomfortable stasis of competing ideologies. The decorative dome atop the Capitol transforms into a hovering U.F.O., suggesting a recent or imminent invasion. The humor in my work serves as an important vehicle for conveying more serious ideas. I question peoples' blind reliance on established beliefs and obsolescent attitudes. My scope ranges from ancient religious adoration to the deification of certain contemporary institutions. I have chosen to work with both prints and sculptures due to my eclectic technical background.