‘Corn As Commodity’ – Jeremy Reding

Corn is undeniably the heart of the ‘Cornhusker State’.  Aside from the moniker of college football where on game days, Memorial Stadium is referred to as the third largest ‘city’ in the state, the seasonal landscape is ruled by the growing cycle of ‘The King Crop’.  In spring, fields on the outskirts of the cities and everywhere in between are tilled from last years nitrogen fixing soybean plantings in preparation for an increased every-other-year corn yield.  Summer is marked by perfectly hot and humid days where the corn responds with an alarming rate of growth. As the repetitive patchwork fields of tassling stalks brown towards completion, the sense of summer’s end and upcoming winter rest is initiated by a drop in temperature and shortening of days. And of course, there are the intense weeks of fall harvest where gigantic machinery emerges from a 10 month shed residence. With each passing year the machines push technological boundaries, many of which no longer require an active driver responding to the twists and turns of the terraced landscape, but rather a technician managing an intricately efficient GPS system.

Concurrent with increased cultivation technology is the increased prevalence of corn in our lives.  No longer just an exportable food crop, corn forms the basis of the fuel in our cars, the packaging of our food, and even some of the clothes we wear.  According to author Michael Pollan, over 1/4 of the 45,000 items in the average American supermarket contain corn.

For Omaha native, Jeremy Reding, his submission not only expresses the importance of the plant to the State of Nebraska but also its role in the transformation of our farms, livestock, grocery stores, and beyond.  By conveying the corncob as a scannable barcode, the simple image attempts to connect viewers to corn as a commodity. Viewers can use the scanner on a smartphone and be directed to a website currently being built by Reding that will list the derivatives of the crop, many of which are surprising and will undoubtedly further the conversation about the pervasiveness of corn in our lives, and impact throughout the world.

Reding graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln with his Master of Architecture degree in 2001.  He now resides in Seattle where he is a principal at Boxwood, an architecture and integrated design firm.  The firm has been involved in a number of Nebraska projects including: Urban Wine Company in Omaha, YMCA in Mason City, and a monastery, currently under construction, for the Omaha Poor Clare Sisters in Elkhorn.  Jeremy is interested in design that encourages a heightened awareness of everyday events, objects, or situations.  He attributes this to growing up in the under-appreciated Midwest where inspiration is often found where least expected.