Canned Art: College to compete in Canstruction

They call it "Two Can Spam"- a giant can of Spam more than 6 feet tall and nearly 3½ feet wide, with an accompanying toucan bird standing 2 feet, 6 inches tall. 

Two Can, made entirely of cans of food, is the tongue-in-cheek creation of a team of Roanoke College students, faculty and staff who will participate this week in the 2014 Canstruction Southwest Virginia competition. Two Can, along with other "cansculptures," will be created on site at the Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke on Thursday, Nov. 6, beginning at noon and ending by midnight.

Canstruction is an international creative event featuring massive sculptures built from cans of food. The event raises hunger awareness and serves as a means to collect food for area food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries that help combat hunger by supplying food to those in need.

Roanoke College is a first-time participant in the event, says Talia Logan, Olin Gallery director, who is coordinating Two Can's design and assembly. The College will compete against eight other teams from across Southwest Virginia, representing architecture, engineering and construction firms, high schools, and other colleges and universities.

The Canstruction exhibit - featuring the cansculptures created Nov. 6 at the Taubman - opens at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7. Winning sculptures, selected by a panel of judges, will be revealed during a 6 p.m. awards ceremony. All day Nov. 7, the public is encouraged to vote for their favorite sculpture by bringing $1 or one can (per vote) to the Taubman. The "People's Choice" winner will be announced at 7 p.m.

This is Southwest Virginia's second Canstruction event. The cansculptures will be on display through Nov. 22. 

The Roanoke College team has designed the Two Can sculpture using more than 1,000 food cans with label colors similar to those of the Spam can - specifically, the can that shows a slice of the processed meat product on a sesame seed bun, layered with onions, tomato, cheese and lettuce. 

Collection bins for canned food donations will be placed inside the Taubman for the duration of the Canstruction exhibit. When the exhibit closes, cansculptures will be dismantled. All cans will go to the Feeding America Southwest Virginia food bank for distribution throughout the region. 

For more information about Canstruction, visit www.canstructionswva.com.