I taught a design class for many years, and one of the things I did with this 3D design class is really emphasize different ways of coming up with ideas. […] The beginning part of the semester was really pretty rigorous, so when we got to the midterm section, I liked to throw in something that was a little more unusual, a little more fun for people to play with. So I started talking about Rococo and Baroque designs, which are extravagant and over the top designs. I came up with this assignment:

“Matchbox Shrine Assignment: As designers you are challenged to communicate specific content with the work you design. A client has approached your firm asking you to design a shrine that goes over the top honoring __________. (You choose the object you wish to honor.) The format for this assignment will be a standard kitchen matchbox. The matchbox should still operate so it can slide open and shut. Both the exterior and the interior of the matchbox will be used to honor this object.

Materials: Anything that will take this shrine over the edge and make it outrageous. The final shrine should be well crafted and be visually cohesive from all sides. Everything used in this assignment must become a permanent part of the piece. The object for this shrine will be housed within the matchbox. […] Allow your creativity to flow, have fun and let there be glitter and glitz.”

I had one student who went to town. She came up with this. This is a pig. Her family were hog farmers, so she did this and it is all over ‘eat pork, eat pork’. The matchbox is in the interior of the pig that she all-over gold foiled. This was done by Hattie Sanderson.

This belongs in the Decorative Hog Museum

Exhibited by Michael Bennett

Transcript edited by Serena Washington