If you walk into the Rutledge Galleries you will see a giant interactive crossword puzzle, pastel wallpaper, and framed pieces of art that are all part of Kirsten Stolle’s work, ‘Selective Memory.’ Now, look closer and you will see how Stolle uses what’s on the surface to bring viewers deeper in, allowing them to gain awareness on an environmental issue, created by a company called Monsanto. Monsanto was an agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation–later taken over by Bayer– that provided many farmers with crop seeds and crop protection solutions. However, these products, including genetically modified foods and chemical induced fertilizers, were proven to be environmentally harmful.
A major controversial chemical Monsanto was responsible for was the creation of Agent Orange. This chemical was used during the Vietnam War by the U.S. military to kill forests to prevent the cover of enemy troops. The use of the product was the cause of many major health hazards to the people of Vietnam and the U.S. military. These facts are not very well known due to the company’s skill in covering up their mistakes.
In this gallery, Stolle challenges her viewers and these companies through artwork. Stolle collaborated with Winthrop’s Art Galleries to display her work in the Rutledge galleries and her work will be exhibited until March 8.
Nicole Davenport, the assistant director of Winthrop’s Galleries, discussed in a previous interview why after six years of communication between her and Stolle, that her work was finally displayed this year.
“Winthrop is holding it’s 2nd Interdisciplinary Conference, “The World of Food: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on What We Eat and Grow,” Feb. 21 -23, 2019. Stolle’s work examines the influence of agribusiness and biotech companies on our food supply. Her research-based practices are grounded in the investigation of corporate propaganda, food politics and biotechnology, which is great dialogue for all students to examine. Stolle’s work presented in the Galleries provides an opportunity for our community to create a conversation about these issues,” Davenport said.
Stolle visited the school on Jan. 25th to discuss her work and inspiration to the students and locals of Rock Hill.
“When I started having problems eating soy, essentially problems with my menstrual cycle and my intestines, I [eliminated] stuff from my diet that I knew was genetically modified,” Stolle said. “So I was like ‘who’s genetically engineering these seeds like who’s doing this’ and so then that lead me down the path of Monsanto.
The stuff I’m interested in, like Monsanto, they’re flat out chemical companies that have a long history of doing pretty detrimental things to the soil and so the title of the show ‘Selective Memory’ refers to how Monsanto and the chemical folks want you to forget so it’s like they have selective memory like oh we didn’t really make Agent Orange we are just gonna tell you all about all the food that we are going to provide for the global economy.”
Stolle goes on to explain what her ultimate point she wants to get across to the viewers of her pieces.
“[What I want people to take away from this is] really ask the questions like ‘who’s telling the story?’ It’s really important to me [to not] always take things at face value [and to] have a critical eye when researching. So I think on top of that [it’s important to know] who’s telling the story,” Stolle said.
Stolle’s work is unlike anything previously seen in the Winthrop Galleries. Some of her pieces were interactive and each piece is more than meets the eye. As you get a closer look at some of her pieces you start unraveling shocking parts Stolle included to it getting her point across. In Stolle’s work and in the story she is trying to tell, there is more to an image than what you have been told or seen.
Kaitlyn Rogers, an art major and marketing minor who attended the event, goes on to describe what she took away from Stolle’s exhibition night.
“I thought it was neat how it was kinda getting political because that’s not something I’ve really seen in the Winthrop Galleries. It made me wanna question things. I like that she presented her ideas that weren’t biased. It wasn’t like ‘I hate Monsanto,’ it was ‘this is what I found,’” Rogers said.
Stolle will have some of her work displayed at the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte soon. If interested in her work and where her work is displayed, you can visit her website http://kirstenstolle.com/.
