RWC Professor John Wolfer, of the Department of Art & Visual Communication, has been awarded a University Research Council (URC) Faculty Development Grant for $4,335. The URC Grant is the first Prof. Wolfer has received. Having grown up around a butcher shop because of his father’s occupation, his project is fitting. Prof. Wolfer’s project will be a series, titled “Reinterpreting Memento Mori: Parody in Meat & Modern Imagery.” The artwork juxtaposes paintings of meat with images and concepts from the meat industry from the 1940s through the 1960s. The grant provides Prof. Wolfer with the necessary funds for his own silk-screening equipment, paints, canvas, and other materials.
Using the silk-screening, Prof. Wolfer will take images from the meat industries, which he finds from books and brochures, and screen them over the painting.
Memento Mori has been used in art, but its interpretation has changed over time. The latest interpretation involves the idea that one must be good while alive in order to enter heaven after death. Images of ephemeral things, such as skulls and crossbones, are used as a reminder of mortality.
Prof. Wolfer uses meat as a metaphor, knowing it can be viewed in many ways, ranging from those such as a butcher’s craft to a meat packer’s industry. The painting on canvas is a craft, and the image silk-screened on top represents the industrial aspect. Prof. Wolfer has finished one project, “Miracle,” and has three others yet to have an image silk-screened over the top.