The scent hit me as soon as I walked into the gallery. Candy. Sugar. Processed yum.
The art itself was equally drool-inspiring, except possibly for the 5-year-old drippy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Artist Bret Lyon received his master's in sculpture from Central Washington University. It was there, in a drawing class, that he conceived the idea of painting with food.
"I got interested in it on a whim," he explained.
At that time he created the afore-mentioned drippy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, using peanut butter, jelly and many pieces of white bread as his "paint." His more recent composition, "Doughnut," looks three-dimensionally tempting, through the use of many, many colored sprinkles, chocolate, and cooked dough. His "Sugar Baby" listed in the dark-its heat element was dissolving the sculpture too quickly, though its eventual demise was the intended result of the piece.
I liked the duality of the show. Underneath the superficial sweetness laid a disturbing message. Why was all this food still around, five years later? And did the excess tines of the fork sculpture allude to the excesses of our culture?
An age-diverse crowd of about 30 people attended the opening of Lyon's Food For Thought show on May 26, according to Lani Ladbon, gallery director.
"We've had a great turnout," she enthused.
One visitor, a small child, looked in danger of eating "Nugget Nugget Nugget," and was hastily picked up by his parents and shown a painting of an ice cream tower, "Sixteen to Go."
The fork is more emblematic of Lyon's regular work as a sculptor. Primarily, he creates yard sculpture, and more of this genre can be viewed this weekend June 2-4, at the Pt. Defiance Flower and Garden Show, in the sculpture garden. Go on, take a look.
Just don't try to eat it.
2008 Woodie Awards
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