Mixed-media kinetic construction
6′(h) x 2′(w) x 3′(d), © 2001
“USDA Certified” delves into the disputed certification of the ballots in the first presidential election of the 21st 
Century (the age of technology?) I have chosen to depict this historic dilemma by juxtaposing the food certification process and the vote certification process-both of which are riddled with confusion and corruption. A highlight of this piece is the incorporation of an electronic voice-changer, reached by climbing a small ladder, where the viewer/participant gives an opinion that is transformed into a robotic machine-like voice. Parts of a grocery shopping cart and plastic food items enhance the center of the artwork where I have made an intricate drawing/collage of Gore and Bush embedded in food. At the bottom of the piece, a motion-activated robotic rat scurries and squeals “Uh, oh….nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.”
USDA Certified Detail