The Walker Art Center recently hosted the MN Artist 4 x Forum event, Maker Culture/Consumer culture. The panel focused on, “the new era of producer-ism in the arts, artists as audiences, and the rise of the creative entrepreneur.” MCAD MFA Alumni ’12 Lea Devon Sorrentino joined Hal Lovemelt, founder of Playatta and Bianca Pettis who is best known for the sound art duo Beatrix*JAR to discuss the impacts of consumerism on popular and maker culture.

Jehra Patrick, panel moderator and Program Director at MN Artists searched out speakers of different disciplines who are influencing or bending the rules of how artists are participating within a capitalist system. Sorrentino was approached because of her multi-media practice that focuses on popular culture and consumerism.

Each artists during the panel previewed their work to segue into the discussion. Lea showed her current web-series, Lunchtime, that she produces and stars in with fellow MCAD MFA alumni Molly May. In addition to she showed a piece created at the Elsewhere residency called “The Limited Time Only”. The piece focused on people’s attachment to mass produced McDonald’s toys. The work related back to the panel discussion to demonstrate ways in which artists are addressing, or moving away from, traditional making and their role as maker. Sorrentino and the other panelist fielded questions about the evolution of how artists support themselves in new collaborative economies, technology making creativity more accessible, and the disruption of the Internet providing new opportunities to expand conversation.

Since “Maker Cultuer/Consumer Culture” Lea has moved to San Francisco to expand her artistic practice. Lunchtime is still being produced monthly and in September she is launching a new podcast called, “Lea and the Internet”. The podcast will analyzes the impact of the internet and how it shapes popular culture. Each episode will be an in-depth, often comical discussion about viral content in all its wonderful online forms. The show will feature Lea Devon Sorrentino and the unique group of intellectuals she stumbles across.

To see more of Lea Devon Sorrentino’s work, please visit: leadevon.com