Thursday, September 18, 2014

Jason Rhoades PeaRoeFoam




Jason Rhoades’ PeaRoeFoam is an arrangement of installations about mass production, spirit, and space. The hodgepodge of interdependent consumer items on display obscure boundaries between the utilitarian and the artistic.
The installation’s title indicates Rhoades’ innovative material of green peas from his family’s garden, salmon eggs, and white beaded foam. Adhered together with non-toxic Elmer’s Glue, the individual elements form a complex and unitary whole. Rhoades “kebab skewers” displays PeaRoeFoam as dense objects and the veiled light wall disperses little clumps of PeaRoeFoam throughout.
The actress Marilyn Chambers image holding an infant is featured on the scattered boxes of Ivory Snow Detergent filled with PeaRoeFoam. Chamber’s image is also  displayed throughout the exhibit on cardboard with a circular hole cut-out in the place of her mouth. The proximity of the images creates tension between advertised wholesomeness and vulgar fantasy.
The Grand Machine/ Areola toys with functionality and the concept of a creative space. The skeletal metal structure congested with mass produced objects doubles as a karaoke center. Do it yourself kits, shrink wrapped pallets,  and tools among other replaceable commodities animate the factory setup.  
There is nothing random about the installation; the overwhelming presence of the objects, the dichotomous back stories and word play, the viewer’s physical awareness of space, and the variety of ways PeaRoeFoam is used contribute to a profound visual and conceptual experience.
image from http://wsimag.com/art/10899-jason-rhoades-pearoefoam 

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