Framing the Issue

At first glance, the poster--with its close-up shot of a mouth opened to bite into a sugary doughnut--looks like the familiar “Got Milk?” billboard promotion.

But a closer look reveals the somber personal confession of a young woman suffering from bulimia: I learned to eat in secret and throw up in silence. My parents never heard a sound. Michelle.

The juxtaposition of innocent, even beautiful, graphic images and anguished voices is the basis for an unusual art show titled “Eating Disorders in a Disordered Culture,” which opened recently in the Channing Peake Gallery in the Santa Barbara County Administration Building.

The installation is the ongoing work of artists Robin Lasser, coordinator of the photography department at San Jose State, and Kathryn Sylva, assistant professor in the environmental design department at UC Davis, who combined art with a public health campaign. Their aim, in augmenting a gallery exhibit with bus posters, billboards and a Web site, is to build public awareness, understanding and support for people with eating disorders.

“It’s an unusual project, but other artists have done similar things with the AIDS campaign, smoking and other health issues,” said Rita Ferri of the Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum, who curated the show.

“The images can be confrontational and disturbing to people, but the role of contemporary art is to reflect the times and the issues. These are two dedicated artists who saw a problem and wanted to do something about it.”

Despite statistics showing that eating disorders afflict 7 million American women and 1 million men, she said, it has almost disappeared from public dialogue.

“In reality, the pace [of the disorder] seems to be growing, particularly in the college community,” Ferri said.

Eating disorders include bulimia (bingeing and purging), anorexia nervosa (starvation) and compulsive overeating.

“They seem to be opposite on the surface, but all stem from the same type of anxiety,” Ferri said.

The exhibit features a wall of memorial plates with the names of anorexics who have died, from the “holy anorexics” of the Middle Ages--whose passion for a mystical religious life drove them to forsake earthly food for piety and austerity, such as Catherine of Siena--to pop singer Karen Carpenter. It also includes large prints, and a computer station for the Web site with an interactive “Speaking Out” section, where survivors of eating disorders, family and friends are encouraged to tell their stories.

It was Lasser’s early experience with anorexia that prompted the two artists to do the show, and her memories are part of the show’s display: It was impossible for me to think of a world beyond my plate. Calorie counting, running around the track in eternal circles, were how I spent my time. I was obsessed with feeling in control over something.

Her narration is one of many personal stories in the show that first opened in the fall in a Santa Clara gallery. After Santa Barbara, it will go on to Fairfield and Sacramento, each time adding hometown stories.

The show will continue to grow, Ferri said. “From the time the announcement cards went out, we have started hearing more stories.”

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“Eating Disorders in a Disordered Culture,” through June 19, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is free; at the Channing Peake Gallery, Santa Barbara County Administration Building, 105 Anapamu St.

Web address: https://www.eating.ucdavis.edu.