‘Slop’ Artists to Tackle America’s Consumer Culture

“Slop’s Supermarket,” a juried art exhibition opening in Madison Feb. 22, will provide a meeting ground for University of Wisconsin–Madison art students, faculty and members of an international art community.

Using video, performance, computer art, prints, paintings, drawings, installations and more, Slop artists (as Daffy Duck has called similar graphic professionals) promise to criticize, embrace and celebrate the dominant aspect of American culture: consumerism. According to organizer Scott Thomas Speh, an M.F.A. candidate in the UW–Madison department of art, some of the exhibition’s themes will include art as a commodity, decoration as function, the image as an economic factor, television as our primary educator and the aesthetics of packaging. A catalog designed as a newspaper shopping circular also will be available on site.

Speh says 52 artists will take part in the exhibition. One of them, Frances Myers, UW–Madison professor of art who will unveil a new installation (site-specific sculpture) at the exhibition, says the level of commitment shown by the students, including the four organizers, is truly amazing and inspiring.

“‘Supermarket’ could be an entire thesis project, yet the students are doing this (exhibition) in addition to their studies, jobs and personal lives,” she says.

Slop will set up shop in a newly remodeled gallery (formerly a post office) donated by Rich Gehrke at 2040 Winnebago St. The exhibition will run through March 2. In addition, several related events will take place in conjunction with the show:

• An opening reception at the exhibition, Feb. 22, 7-9 p.m.
• A lecture on his “faux-Marxist” work by exhibiting artist Matthew Friday, who teaches at Indiana State University, Feb. 23, 4 p.m.
• A special performance/video screening/computer night Feb. 25 featuring some of the artists, 7 p.m.

All events will be held at the gallery, and will be free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Slop home page.

CONTACT: Scott Thomas Speh, (608) 284-1190, stspeh@students.wisc.edu