A Wisconsin museum, the distinctive Racine Art Museum (RAM), owns the honor of being the only art museum in the country to host a PEEPS competition. This year, the RAM opened their 2nd Annual International Peeps Competition on April 1 and extends the exhibition through April 28 to showcase a variety of innovative uses for the legendary candy to stretch one's imagination.
PEEPS recall memories that begin when the Just Born Company invented the pastel marshmallow confection originally first made only during the Easter season. Although in 2011, PEEPS may be found in neon colors and at several holidays throughout the year. The over 70 year old candy eventually catered to a cult following and fan club because somewhere over two billion PEEPS sell during the spring season alone. The candy's popular website includes hats and T-shirts to wear for those who truly find everyday life unbearable without PEEPS. Indulging these idiosyncrasies, some PEEPS connoisseurs only eat them fresh, while others enjoy the confection stale. Then there are those foodies who use the PEEPS to replace marshmallows when making brightly colored s'mores.
While the RAM exclusively offers PEEPS in their exhibition to look at instead of for consumption, they invited anyone to send in artwork using the iconic candy for this competition. However, the artwork may only use PEEPS, and no other food products, and must comply with several rules similar to any other art competition. This year the spring exhibit featured clever, crazy and wild submissions in all age categories, even for the under 12 set, for which the museum presented awards.
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Steve Namowicz garnered the RAM's Executive Director Award for his sculpture titled Afternoon Delight. Using PEEPS and found objects, primarily old wine corks, Namowicz constructed a vineyard with a pergola and tables underneath, seated and surrounded by purple PEEPS people. Amanda Burmeister created a woman's PEEPS fantasy when she adorned sunny colored textured shoes with a yellow candy bow in her work PEEPS Toe Pumps.
First place in the under 12 division honored Grace Siler who constructed a table sculpture The Wonderful PEEPS of OZ, complete with an emerald wall and flower field that revisits this classic tale. To win second place, Alissa Burke channeled Andy Warhol in her wall hung image Candy Warhol. Her small-scale work pasted PEEPS in repeated colored squares to form a grid similar to Warhol's pop culture images of Campbell Soup cans or Marilyn Monroe.
An entry from Mequon disqualified itself by being too large for the exhibition requirements, so artists, please read those rules for next year. Christian Fite, Stacey Williams-Ng and Sophie Ng collaborated on their own shadowbox theater in La Cage Aux Fowl. Tiny electric lights illuminated the nightclub, lit from within, where a line of PEEPS waited to see the two PEEPS performers on stage. Their long, pipe cleaner legs and feather headwear made the exotic "PEEPERS" stand out from the pastel colored crowd.
Visit RAM'S exhibition before April 28 to experience all the wonderful PEEPS art and place a vote for the Popular PEEPS Choice Award. The winner will be announced after the exhibition closes to give everyone a chance to vote, and to vote often. In the meantime, Milwaukee offers its own PEEPS SHOW #6 at the Bay View Brew Haus, 2535 South Kinnickinnic, on Sunday, April 17 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Bring your own PEEPS ART to be displayed for the afternoon or buy a package of PEEPS to enjoy on its own at this special party where a $2.00 donation benefits the Humane Society. Happy PEEPS!
