Better than Most

With this project I have sought out niche agricultural communities where systems of hierarchal value and aesthetics operate to a larger degree. The subjects under scrutiny are representative of a distinct sensibility, a previously negotiated ideal owing its originations to a long-standing history of competition and connoisseurship. I am not privy to the coded languages of these communities, but I am meant to be dazzled by the displays offered to me as an onlooker. Through objects, we externalize the need to confront and exalt beauty, and through constituencies, we gain confirmation that these revelations are valid. The metamorphosis of these subjects, through varied stages of creators and observers, cultivates a complex conversation surrounding value assignment.