2017
Commissioned by The University of Texas at Austin. Presented in Omnibus Filing, an exhibition at the Visual Arts Center, UT Austin. Curated by James Sham and Brian Korgel.
This project presents the Hamilton Beach Sandwich Maker, designed to make a fast-food breakfast sandwich at home in five minutes, as the source of inspiration for other, perhaps better, ideas. Two scientists at UT Austin and one artist proposed alternative uses for the sandwich maker, which were exchanged for an artwork. I created the artworks following their description, and also presented them in the gallery.
Tim Siegler, for instance, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Korgel Group Nanomaterials Lab, proposed transforming the sandwich maker into the Invisible Ink Low Temperature Sensor, which he exchanged for a painting. He asked me to paint the phrase THE FUTURE LOOKS STRONG in the team colors of the Milwaukee Bucks.
And Vikas Reddy, also a postdoctoral research fellow at the Nanomaterials Lab, reworked the sandwich maker into the Hamilton Beach Dosa Cooker. He exchanged his idea for a portrait of himself painted by the artist.
I devised the Self-gliding Doorstop, which used the sandwich maker to keep the lab door open for 10 minutes so that the official sign concerning ‘concealed weapons in the lab’ is obscured under certain conditions. The proposal was exchanged for the promise of a walk at a busy time.
A telescope was stationed across the gallery to allow viewers to see the work better from a distance.
Materials: Four Hamilton Beach Sandwich Makers, three proposals for alternative uses, three paintings exchanged for the proposals, four blank posters, telescope.
Location: Korgel Group Nanomaterials Lab, UT Austin.