For many, food is an obsession. This obsession may manifest itself in many ways'some healthy and some perhaps less advisable. One of the more unusual, albeit healthier, expressions of food fixation is on display at the 734 Gallery, 734 University Ave., open from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Thursday.
The 'Let Them Eat Cake' exhibition is an assembly of work by UW-Madison art students celebrating the world of cake. Artists used cake as a medium, subject and inspiration to create works expressing the joy and excitement as well as the less cheery connotations of the classic dessert.
Curator Sasha Bergstrom-Katz found the inspiration for the exhibition while working in a bakery last summer. A sophomore art student at UW-Madison, Bergstrom-Katz was struck by people's passion for cake and wondered how this zeal might be artfully expressed.
Among these original expressions is a piece by Lindsey Snyder titled 'Hair Cake.' For those familiar with the scene in the movie American Wedding in which pubic hair and wedding cake are joined in rather unholy matrimony, Snyder's piece will undoubtedly elicit a smile. However, it seemed evident at the show's opening that the humor in a pubic hair-covered wedding cake is somehow lost on members of older generations.
One piece which all can relate to involves the primal urge to snatch a piece of forbidden cake. Tyler Hallet's 'Best Wishes' is a crime-scene in which chalk outlines convey a crime of passion: the victims (or perhaps perpetrators?) have been struck down after sneaking a few pieces of cake.
The greatest tragedy, however, are the uneaten pieces of cake which lie next to the chalk outlines. The victims were never even able to finish their tasty loot. Luckily for visitors on opening night, an assortment of cakes and cupcakes were offered, appeasing such sinful desires.
Sadly, for some individuals cake is not as mouth-watering. Many artists chose instead to express the darker emotions brought forth by cake.
'I'm not a fan of cake. Cake to me doesn't mean a party,' sophomore Ryan Lynch said, explaining his work, 'Don't Tell Anyone or It Won't Come True.'
Lynch focused instead on the mythology of the birthday wish, using birthday candles in his mixed media piece. The written wishes paired with these candles contrast sharply with the apparent joy of the birthday cake, often reflecting the most private displeasures of one's life.
For Angela Thomas, whose 'Pumpkin Cake' was decomposing before the audience's eyes, birthdays and cakes are transient and meaningless cultural symbols.
'Birthdays don't even last that long,' Thomas said. 'They decay, like the pumpkin.'
While these darker expressions of cake give it a somber edge, the exhibition would not be complete without Jed Weisman's work, titled 'My Mom Says I Only Hear What I Want To.' The painting depicts the most astoundingly Technicolor penis and testicles one may ever lay eyes on. What does this have to do with cake, you ask? Not a lot, as evident by the inscription on the piece that reads, 'Sorry, the show's about 'cake''?
'I really gave them a lot of freedom,' Bergstrom-Katz said.
This liberty was appreciated by the audience Saturday night. Even the older attendees were seen to smirk and giggle abashedly at Weisman's piece. While 'Hair Cake' may have produced disturbed silence for some, it seems everyone can appreciate a good phallic symbol.
Whether or not these artists enjoy a good piece of cake, Bergstrom-Katz said they enjoyed this unique opportunity. 'I think it was pretty fun,' Bergstrom-Katz said. 'But it wasn't just colorful fun, it was dark and edgy fun too.'
