Arts Mutant Graphics On the walls of Rice Gallery, an angry ice cream cone sported boxing gloves, an atomic mushroom cloud erupted from a baby carriage and a turtle wore a human skull as his shell.
Salter constructed the “Styrobot” from 3,000 cubic feet of Styrofoam packaging, much of it saved and donated by Rice University employees.
Over the last eight years, artist Michael A. Salter has collected more than 300 oddball logos, absurd pictograms and bizarre product images. He also scavenges consumer leftovers — in particular, Styrofoam formed to protect electronics. Salter brought his finds together in unexpected ways in his Rice Gallery installation, “too much,” in which a giant robot made from cast-off Styrofoam occupied most of the floor space while the gallery walls were strewn with the collected images. Salter’s collection of graphic icon oddities was transformed into monochromatic vinyl appliqués that he adhered to the gray gallery walls like bizarre wallpaper. The host of conceptual misfires raised intriguing questions about their purpose and those who designed them. Why is an ant being injected by a hypodermic needle? Why does a bare foot wear a cowboy hat on its big toe? What in the world are these images trying to communicate? The drawings looked like mutant graphics cobbled together by a designer who has only recently arrived on our planet. In the midst of this, Salter’s giant white “Styrobot” slumped against the wall in a corner of the gallery. Its scale was menacing: 16 feet in height while seated, it was far too tall to actually stand within the gallery. It looked as if Salter’s creation was temporarily deactivated, or maybe it was just overwhelmed by the gallery’s visual cacophony. Salter constructed the “Styrobot” from 3,000 cubic feet of Styrofoam packaging, much of it saved and donated by Rice University employees. All the divots, bumps, indentations and cavities of the Styrofoam were specifically designed to accommodate particular products. Removed from their intended purpose, they conveyed the same sense of bewilderment as Salter’s collected images. The bizarre logos read as frustrated attempts to communicate, while the enormous robot, crafted from leftovers, had a Frankenstein-like quality. “too much” made the point that, while visual overload is grating, the physical overload of the junk we make, buy and toss is much more than a psychic assault: It is a tangible environmental threat. In drafting the Styrofoam into service for his art, Salter gave it a new purpose — at least until it was recycled at the close of the exhibition. Salter also gave new life to his collection of dysfunctional iconography by using it to confront us with the excesses of our consumer culture. “too much” reads as a cautionary tale in which seemingly innocuous things become a gargantuan monster beyond our control. —Kelly Klaasmeyer
Rice Magazine
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No. 2
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2009
39