ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University Galleries is currently exhibiting “Selective Memory” by Kirsten Stolle in the Rutledge Gallery through March 8.
Stolle will present a public lecture and gallery walk-through on Friday, Jan. 25, at 5:30 p.m. in 119 Rutledge Building, followed by an opening reception at 6:30 p.m. in the Rutledge Gallery. All gallery events are free and open to the public.
In “Selective Memory,” Stolle delves into the relationship between our economy and ecology, specifically how agribusiness and biotech companies influence our food supply. Stolle manipulates, redacts and appropriates source materials such as 20th-century medical books, 19th century botanical lithographs, USDA promotional videos, archival photographs and more to challenge “corporate propaganda and industry narratives.” Much of Stolle’s research-based studio practice in collage, drawing and mixed media is grounded in the investigation of food politics, biotechnology and corporate propaganda.
The exhibition includes work such as “Faith, Hope & $5,000” in which Stolle created 16 framed pieces using the appendix extracted from a mid-1970s corporate history of Monsanto Chemical Company as the structure to explore found text in a visual format. Using the method of selective concordance, verbs have been excised from chemical names and reconstructed into non-narrative poems. These more formal pieces, drawing on the history of found poetry, use typography and graphic elements to give new and unexpected content to the original material.
Stolle’s “By the Ton” series examines the historical legacy of multinational chemical companies and their influence on the global food system. This series dissects the prevailing rhetoric and critiques the practice of corporate greenwashing. Text has been culled from chemical company marketing materials and superimposed over historical photographs.
Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Stolle lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay area for 19 years and currently lives in Western North Carolina. She received a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from Framingham State College, and completed studies at Richmond College (London, England) and Massachusetts College of Art. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the San Jose Museum of Art, the Crocker Art Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Her solo exhibitions include works displayed in NOME in Berlin, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University and the Dolby Chadwick Gallery, among others. She’s also participated in group exhibitions in the San Jose Museum of Art, the Crocker Art Museum, the Tweed Museum of Art and more.
Stolle’s work can also been seen at the Mint Museum Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of the “Under Construction: Collage from the Mint Museum” through Aug. 18. Work for “Selective Memory” has been generously loaned by the Tracey Morgan Gallery in Asheville.
“Selective Memory” ties in with Winthrop University’s second Interdisciplinary Conference, “The World of Food: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on What We Eat and Grow,” set for Feb. 21-23.
Other educational programming for the exhibition includes an interdisciplinary panel discussion entitled “GMOs and Our Food Supply: Bad or Good?” The panel will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 11 a.m. in 119 Rutledge Building. Panelists include Assistant Professor of Human Nutrition Joshua McDonald, College of Business Administration Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Professor of Economics Laura Ullrich and Assistant Professor of Biology Cindy Tant. Interdisciplinary Studies Chair Marsha Bollinger will serve as moderator for this event. Insights will be offered from multiple perspectives into the pros and cons of using GM-engineered plants to increase global food supplies.
All exhibitions, presentations and receptions are open and free to the public, unless otherwise noted. Galleries hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. except on university holidays and in between exhibitions.
For more information, visit the website or call 803/323-2493.
