MEAT SHoot

STORAGE SPACE GALLERY
Indianapolis, IN

July 26 — August 11, 2019

Project assistants :

Kyle Perry, Target Handler
JoAnna Darda, Target Judge
Benjamin Simon, Weapons Safety Technician
Nicholas Witten, Round Announcer
Brent Lehker, Fabrication
 

The American Legion Post 111 in Shrewsbury, Missouri holds a meat shoot most Sunday afternoons during the months of January and February. It’s hosted by Tony Wagner who called the event “a game of chance without gambling.” He has been helping with meat shoots at this American Legion for 30 years.

Meat shoots are often an integral part of rural culture. Many civic organizations, conservation clubs, and independent businesses hold or sponsor meat shoots to serve as fundraisers, either to support their own organizations or to raise funds for locals who have found themselves in unexpected need of a helping hand with medical expenses or after a house fire. Fairly common in the St. Louis area and southern Illinois, shoots can also be found throughout the midwest, along the east coast, and in the southern states. They go by other names including card shoots, turkey shoots, or board shoots, but almost always involve a shotgun, paper targets, and various cuts of meat as the winning prize. 

MEAT SHooT is an ongoing project that wrestles with discomfort, embraces personal contradiction, and provides an opportunity to further engage with uncertainty. The exhibition attempts to bring a similar experience into a space that typically hosts audiences who are not likely to find themselves in an American Legion Post or a VFW for a meat shoot anytime soon and invites viewers and participants alike to engage with any of their own personal apprehensions or assumptions about the physical content without the intention of searching for solutions or truths.

An Artist Talk + Dinner was held on Friday, August 9th at 7 PM in the same space. Dinner featured the pork loin she brought home after winning a round at the American Legion Post 111 Meat Shoot on Sunday, February 3, 2019.