"I saw the striped couch"

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] When an image is repeated enough times, it begins to leave an impression in the subconscious of our mind. Advertisers have been able to utilize this phenomenon to create brands, typically through the repetition of simplified forms and colors that begin to be associated with that brand, eventually becoming a logo that is synonymous with the brand it represents. Overtime, the logo becomes more important than the product it adorns, and the logo becomes the ideal. ... The exhibition's title "i saw the striped couch", references how we as individuals identify ourselves by the experiences we have, in the same way that we identify our personalities with the objects we choose to purchase, wear, or display in our homes. By treating the striped couch as another "must see", "must have" object, the exhibition is replicating the way products and experiences are marketed within a Capitalist society. However, there are always gaps between the advertised "ideal" and the real thing, and by creating work that hovers somewhere between these worlds, I leave viewers with the sense that seeing the striped couch may be the closest they will ever come to engaging with the product I have created.