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The MOMO store

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The MOMO store

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Content The MOMO Store
by
Kenneth J. Murphy
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirem ents for the D egree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(CERAMICS)
D ecem ber 1994
Copyright 1994 Kenneth J. Murphy
UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA
T H E GRA DUATE SC H O O L
U N IV ER SITY PARK
LOS A N G ELES, CA LIFO R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This thesis, written by
K e m e - n t f f l v p . p i i r '______________________
under the direction of hJ.H. Thesis Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been pre
sented to and accepted by the Dean of The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
.............................
&&Ll - C. ,
Dtan
T > a te .l/ 3 0 l 3 ± . ___________
THESIS COMMITTK
Chairman
ABSTRACT
Clay rem ains a marginalized and critically limited material within the art
discourse. This critical position provides an appropriate strategy in which to
question the lack of critical discussion surrounding the u se of the material,
while addressing larger art issues regarding contem porary sculpture and
system s of representation. T hese margins which clay navigates allows it to
function within The MOMO Store a s the appropriate medium addressing the
conflation of the seem ingly disparate commercial system s and objects of the
m useum store and porn shop. This conflation privileges the humor, horror,
beauty, and comm entary which precipitate.
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. The MOMO Store, 1994, Mixed m edia installation,
T h e Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
Figure 2. The MOMO Store, 1994, Poster,
T he Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
Figure 3. The MOMO Store, 1994, American Ticklers,
T he Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
Figure 4. The MOMO Store, 1994, For Special Occasions,
T h e Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
Figure 5. The MOMO Store, 1994, Lovely to look at...,
T h e Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
"The 'experience of art’ under its politically correct a u sp ice s will be
redem ptive, in spite of the panoply of incom m ensurable go o d s an d evils that
individual works might recom m end."
-D a v e Hickey, The Invisible Dragon
Clay rem ains a m arginalized and critically limited m aterial within the art
discourse. T he MOMO Store provides an environm ent that calls to question
the m arginalized critical sp a c e that clay h a s b een relegated to. T he self-
conscious u se of clay's lowly critical position provides an appropriate strategy
in which to question the conspicuous lack of critical discussion surrounding
th e u se of the material, while engaging the larger art issu e s regarding th e
sta tu s of contem porary sculpture and representation.
T he ceram ic object is characterized a s being low-art, craft, fragile,
utilitarian, a cute novelty or souvenir. T he pro cess is considered rem edial,
regressive and m ost certainly sensual. T he porn shop and its array of w ares
a re d eem ed low-culture, deviant, marginal, libidinal, surrogates, and novelties
or g ag gifts. T he art m useum store, being the comm ercial franchise of the
cultural institution, connotes high-culture, the beautiful, academ ia, distance,
th e souvenir or gift and visual surrogacy. T he attributes ascrib ed to clay allow
it to function within T he MOMO S tore a s the proper vehicle to a d d re ss th e
conflation of th e seem ingly disparate commercial system s an d objects of the
1
m useum store and porn shop. This conflation privileges the humor, horror,
beauty, and commentary which precipitate.
The MOMO Store began a s a project investigating the proximity of the
object to its referent and the m anner in which context provides an anchor for
meaning. The cock ring in the porno shop finds purpose only by its residence
within the environment which informs the object. The identical object sold by
a plumbing store a s an "O" ring, can only fetch a third of the going cock ring
rate. One piece of hardw are with a dual identity and corresponding prices.
Here, the privileged context being the institution of sexual objects and
pleasure, and how this bears dominion over the process of signification is at
issue. Image is everything.
The combining of the museum store with the porn shop produces a
setting most appropriate for examining the current state of the sculpture and
the role ceram ics plays within it. The MOMO Store further investigates the
commercialization of museum collections and personal sites of pleasure
within the m ainstream and those at the margins, while engaging a critique of
how these system s manifest categories of objects driven by particular notions
of representation within a desired context or meaning. The boundary
separating so-called High and Low culture can be characterized a s a sem i-
perm eable membrane. Those salient issues that p a ss through the layers of
cultural tissue do not do so freely, but by way of a well engineered pathway
under constant construction. An info-mercial superhighway. Humor
2
d eco n stru cts the pathway, creating multiple on an d off-ram ps that ultimately
lead no w here. The com edy of the journey is it's own satisfaction.
T he art m useum , the codifying ag en t of visual culture, h a s understood
well the m anner which m ost accurately a ssig n s value to it's perm anent
collection. This once seem ingly platonic institution, h as taken to pimping
visual culture, and the m useum store is it's bordello. T he beautiful is now
cap tu red and dom esticated providing p leasu re on dem and on ce the price h a s
b e e n paid. T he original work h as m utated into the "m asterpieced," with value
determ ined by its draw p o ten tial. T he artwork becom es a collaborative
perform ance with its audience, a Hollywood high sp e e d c h a se with the viewer.
T he bigger the thrills, the g reater the dem and for souvenirs. T he g rea ter the
banality, the g reater the value. T he m arket value of the m asterp iece is
determ ined by the potential commercial value of its reproductions. T he site of
th e original work is inconsequential, having b een reduced to gentrified
trading cards. A trip to the m useum becom es the m ere scouting m ission of an
existential art foray. Existence confirms the essential quality of cultural
desirability, thus motivating the conditioned societal reflex for p o ssessio n . A
Pavlovian art response, th e distinction betw een viewing and consum ing
eroded. T he av erag e viewer labors m ore over the reproduction than the
original. Mindful of this, T he MOMO Store d isp e n se s with this nuisance,
providing the institutional endorsem ent which absolves the view er from th e
n eed to m ake cultural value judgem ents.
Figure 1
The MOMO Store, 1994
Mixed m edia installation
The Brewery Arts Complex, Los Angeles
W hat the porn shop lacks in cultural credibility, it more than m akes up
for in wondrous objects. One finds exotic objects from not-so-distant cultures,
monolithic sculptures for seemingly unimaginable activities, confounding text
and interactive displays with performing mechanical wonders engineered to
outperform flesh. Dominant culture and the marginalized em brace to create a
rich, polyvalent narrative unfolding for the active viewer within a ready m ade
installation that is equal parts horror, social science and side show. The
fugitive nature of pleasure, both physical and intellectual, are not so strange
bedfellows to The MOMO Store. Certain pleasures are an acquired taste.
Both the desire for culture and the culture of desire shop at The MOMO Store.
4
The museum represents a therapeutic intellectual experience. O ne
m akes a pilgrimage seeking to pay penance, and to seek salvation by bearing
w itness to works that signify mythic moments of clarity and spirituality in
human existence. The porno shop signifies The Fall, the carnal. The sex toy
is without a context, a s is the museum store object, until the proximity of other
objects provides the needed components to develop syntax. Only then can a
narrative develop a s objects inform one another and are informed by their
locale. Both the porn object and the museum store object becom e souvenir
trophies of conquests, both physical and conceptual, of successful
participation in the cultural fiction. The shiny ceram ic tools offered by The
MOMO Store are m onuments in celebration of that journey. Surrogates can
perform many functions, but those of The MOMO will be punctuated by the
experience of their inaccessibility, the temporality of viewing being the only
real climax The MOMO Store customer will achieve.
The MOMO Store plunges head first into the multi-layered richness
and pleasures resulting from the shifting contexts and narratives that
unabashedly assert their presence on each customer. Layering the m useum
store with porn shop creates a seemingly familiar environment that entraps
the viewer into a complex web of fiction grounded by familiar retail tropes. By
avoiding struggle, one freely negotiates the intricacies of the snare, carefully
examining the intersections of converging information. Radiating fragm ents
seek and unite, developing an elastic labyrinth discriminately capturing and
5
releasing signals to the engaged viewer. The resulting information allows
infinite av en u es of escap e, yielding the greatest intensities to th o se who allow
the slow and careful penetration of their minds and bodies. T he term s which
cultural m ediation circum scribes the boundaries and intensities of public and
private pleasures are taken for granted. By conflating th ese two sites of
perversion, the m useum store and the porn shop, into a burlesque labyrinth of
desire and deceit, The MOMO Store provides one-stop shopping for a m arket
segm ent in need of deep penetration.
The cram ped sp ace of The MOMO Store intensifies the relationship
betw een the custom er and the displays by forcing close proximity betw een
th ese two integral aspects of the installation. The viewer rarely e sc a p e s his
or her own reflection while closely examining the m erchandise within each of
the g lass c a s e s in a minimalist ploy accentuating the integral relationship the
custom er plays in activating the space. Continually displayed for his or
herself, the viewer becom es the bull in this china shop. The relationship
betw een the view er/consum er and the m erchandise in The MOMO Store
cannot reach its logical climax via immediate consum ption. Satisfaction is not
g u aranteed by The MOMO Store.
The products of The MOMO Store are displayed using familiar retail
props, displays, cases, rotating racks, signage, comm on packaging,
functioning c ash register and the ever present video surveillance unit. The
transition from a passive to active viewing the intended result, allowing the
6
preem inent consum er subject to at once find the surroundings unsettling yet
familiar, prompting cultural habits to prevail. W hat the viewer will becom e
increasingly aw are of is the lack of a MOMO Store staff. With the possibility
of consum m ating a physical relationship with any of the items of the store
rem oved, now unincum bered, the engaged viewer will be free to m ake
tem poral relationships. Intellectual quickies or an orgy of possibilities are free
for the taking, with laughter and bewilderment the orgasm s of choice.
The c a se housing the "Hand-Made" dildos throbs under the cool glow
of its florescent bulb, while the battle worn exterior protects the well preserved
harvest gold interior. The luscious clay objects housed within, a re glazed in
burnt orange, avocado, and rust, the colors of 1950's tablew are com e
contem porary kitsch. Each different in size, design and color, exist a s both
the m ost sum ptuous and potentially terrifying objects within the store. Two
motorized displays grind and turn methodically, their m otors wafting the
fragrance of their labor into the confines of the store. The red and black
serp en ts c ast film noir shadow s twice there im pressive size onto the wall
behind. Their hypnotic gyrations activate the sp ace and function a s any good
point of purchase display should, methodically captivating intrigue while
boring into the subconscious rec esse s their hidden agenda. The visual
m enace of th e dueling dildos pales in com parison to their potential physical
intrusiveness.
7
T he p o ste r is an excellent display tool to reinforce peripheral
m erchandise, like th e N E W PETERBILT American Tickler, a s well a s give
ap p ro p riate notoriety to the well endow ed J.W . H olm es Trust. T he
poster, b e st resem bling a n old black and white porno still, a ctiv ates the
potential of th e objects displayed to th e right of th e poster, while
referencing th e dark an d m arginal extrem es of th e vernacular. T h e continued
su p p o rt T h e MOMO enjoys from this well docum ented late legend w arran ts
an im age th at c eleb ra te s both the im m ense body of his work a n d th e
g e n e ro u s endow m ent which sta n d s a s the m ea su re for th o se w ho follow.
A partition se p a ra te s the store from the u n u sed s p a c e of th e
installation, reinforcing th e tem porality of the endeavor, "com ing...m o'
Figure 2
The MOMO Store, 1994
Poster
T h e Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles
MOMO," written on Tyvek and suggesting a construction barrier, stan d s a s
nothing m ore than a theatrical curtain late in being drawn, cajoling the
viewer's expectations. An "Employees Only" sign, suspended on a velvet
theatrical rope, te a se s viewers into expecting to find closure to their own
subjective fabrication. A video surveillance cam era records the activity of all
those who enter, the absent monitor viewed by an u nseen other. The
boundary betw een viewer, spectator and authority is never established,
leaving the privileged viewing position a s ultimately am biguous.
T he large exterior window establishes the sam e relation betw een
interior and exterior that the display c a se s do for the product and the
consum er. The MOMO store consum er is placed in the position of the objects
and guilty by association to the environment. This mediation challenges one
to em brace the experience at the risk of social perception. O nce again
proximity betw een objects informs context. Every asp ect of viewing and
gazing is m ediated by an other. Browsing itself becom es a spon tan eo u s
collaborative performance.
Ultimately humor tak es center stage in the q u est for disruption of
meaning. Product packaging is one of marketing's biggest tools for context
manipulation, the signifier and the signified bear no responsibility to one
another. The text of the header card which captions the object, disintegrates
into disparate vocabularies, unconfined to a particular m eaning and ultimately
defying signification. Denotation and connotation trade blows in a bout taking
9
place only w hen com m enced by
viewing. The Stay Puft Man
American Tickler, from the
perm anent collection of T he
MOMO, exists to serve th ese
strategies. This relatively benign
Michelin Man of the m arshmallow
world is decapitated, his h ead in
a plastic pouch. As with all the
characters, the face of the Stay
Puft Man displays an e a g e rn e ss
and that is certainly suspect.
TheMOMO Store, 1994 Text plays the dom inant role in
American Ticklers . . .. , ....
The Brewery Arts Complex, Los A ngeles de,erm lnln9 the role of th,s
product in the life of the
consum er. The Sfay Puft Man alludes to prolonged sexual fulfillment and
safety a s well. T he tag line a sse rts "Best W hen Flaming," further opening
context and the target consum er. Products which successfully navigate
multiple m arkets provide a multiplicity of fertile readings. T he MOMO would
a sse rt that in the c a se of the objects of their collection and store, th ese are
only artistic readings, and the consum er’ s subjectivity is th e issue, not th e
intention of the work or the product. American Ticklers are "For Novelty U se
10
Only", a s is clearly stated on the package. The MOMO a ssu m e s no
responsibility for u se outside th ese param eters.
T hose objects housed in the other glass c a se are a m ost disparate
group. Clay dildos com pete with Four Uranus' jewelry, the Venus Ball, butt
plug sets, a s well a s the Electra Glide in Blue. Toilet fixtures, Harley Davidson
motorcycle grips, b ead s and text all vie for attention while jointly asserting
their sexual potential. The Master/Apprentice and Den Leader/Li'l Cub butt-
plug sets a sse rt them selves a s butt-plugs only by way of projecting a
particular narrative upon them. Dog toys are the original ready-m ades for
th ese items which best resem ble over-sized pacifiers. They do in fact b ear
striking resem blance to the porn shop objects to which they owe their
Figure 4
The MOMO Store, 1994
For Special Occasions
T he Brewery Arts Complex, Los Angeles
11
nam esake, which require context and witty text to provide the sexualization
n e c e ssa ry for their ultimate disposition. The d ated and politically incorrect
packaging of the Venus Ball, along with the purple "ball," com bine for an
ideally sexual ready-m ade package. T he alab aster V enus' p o se is wonderfully
captioned by a decidedly m ale narrative, required only the editing of certain
plumbing referen ces to inspire the "always in perfect sh ap e" possibilities the
product proclaim s. Two particularly successful oddities a re the m atching Four
Uranus' necklace and bracelet set. T he fashionable custom er who
a c c e sso riz e s with th e se exquisite pieces challenges an evening's esco rt "to
boldly go w here no o n e h a s gone before." Faux pearls c re ate a wonderful
lunar a u ra w hen interspersed with four hypoallergenic rubber p lan ets stung
on sturdy 20 pound monofilament. T he sim ple yet sm art oversized silver
clasp provides a su re hold in tight situations.
T he "Lovely to look at..." is a display of m ass produced dildos, in little
g lass h o u ses. D ecorative art never felt so good. T he souvenir potential of
clay tak e s on a new twist. The m aterial, finish and im ages a sso c ia te d with a
curio sh o p aesth etic a sse rt a decidedly different potential w hen com bined with
a m a ss produced clay dildo inspired by T he MOMO. Titles float above th e
objects a s floating signifiers to the objects which they inform, taunting the
e n g ag e d view er into the unenviable, but rewarding task of com pleting this
exercise in signification. Assigning a product nam e to each object is
com plicated by the awkward placem ent of the hanging sign that prev en ts e a sy
12
viewing of both the text and the image laden dildos. Text is read, and then is
lost to view the pieces. This constant reestablishing of text to object gives
rise to free associational possibilities within the display. The viewer is called
upon to develop the narrative between im ages by matching titles to images.
P ieces such a s Fly Rod, a heartwarming gift for the spouse of a flyfisher,
vacillates betw een a description of a trout fisherm an's tool, to endearing street
I f* ■ t'ftf/fu t r.* W J,
IA / tf ft,
Figure 5
The MOMO Store, 1994
Lovely to look at...
The Brewery Arts Complex, 1994
poetics and beyond. Humor
provides the solvent to concrete
meaning, producing a substance
a s slippery a s K/Y Jelly. The
closing sale confirmed that the
market begs for future and
deeper penetration. The
environment of The MOMO Store
exists a s a surreal sp ace both
within and beyond everyday
experience. The e sse n c e of
images of The MOMO Store and
how they m ediate future im ages
encountered by its patrons
becom es the product ultimately
consum ed. The humor and
13
absurdity experienced in The MOMO Store should prevail a s the strategy
recalled in the everyday reading of im ages and objects, including those of
high culture. A free associational extravaganza is the reward for rigorous
dissection of images. The traditional monolithic sculpture becom es static to a
culture capable of consuming and disposing of imagery at the current torrid
pace. Only by subverting the sam e strategies and objects so familiar to this
ravenous machine, can a new discursive format allow access within the now
impoverished venues of so-called high culture.
14
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Copyright 1994 by
Murphy, Kenneth James
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Asset Metadata

Creator Murphy, Kenneth James (author)

Core Title The MOMO store

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Ceramics

Degree Conferral Date 1994-12

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag fine arts,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Price, Kenneth M. (committee chair), Bunn, David (committee member), Weisberg, Ruth (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-3459

Unique identifier UC11356837

Identifier 1376490.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-3459 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 1376490-0.pdf

Dmrecord 3459

Document Type Thesis

Rights Murphy, Kenneth James

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA