Crop

By: Andrew Waite located at the Prime Gallery.

When I first approached this exhibit I was not sure what I was looking at. The glare from the aluminum and looking too closely at the image kept me from seeing what it was at first. Then I stepped back and focused on the picture as a whole and realized that it was a corn field. I was amazed at the image in front of me because it was a simple corn field but because of the aluminum foil and the display of it, the image appeared to be more complex and full with meaning.
The artist was inspired to create this exhibit because he grew up in rural Ontario and used aluminum foil because at the time he was in Italy and it was the only material he could get his hands on. After reading about this display I learned a lot more about corn and corn as a commodity in the market. It is the largest grain grown in the world and is traded more then rice. This makes it a valuable product thus leading to controversy. As I read, the problems raised over corn include higher land prices, and increased prices for grain.
The crops were life sized, and the foil texture reflected the texture that corn could reach during harvest times. When I looked closely at a single piece the detail was great.
Other issues raised with corn include genetically engineered corn and its effects on humans and wildlife, there are some links that discuss this more in the right column.