Indiana University’s collections span Renaissance paintings, medieval manuscripts ... and educational films explaining capitalism. First-year M.F.A. student Ellie Prisbrey stumbled across them in the IU Moving Image Archive when prompted to explore one of the university’s special collections and make art in response to it. Currently on view at University Collections at McCalla, “Inspired by Inquiry” includes the artworks that resulted from Prisbrey’s and 14 of her fellow M.F.A. students’ engagement with IU’s varied collections.
The exhibition showcases the advantage of pursuing a creative degree within a well-resourced Research 1 institution, as well as the extent to which art can refine and transform our understanding of history. “Inspired by Inquiry” is a collaboration between University Collections and the Eskenazi School with contributions from Grunwald Gallery Director Linda Tien and Associate Professor of Ceramics Malcolm Mobutu Smith,
In anticipation of the show’s opening reception on Thursday, January 30 from 4-6 pm at McCalla, Eskenazi School communications and marketing intern and O’Neill School Master of Arts in Arts Administration student Forough Sehat asked Prisbrey to share the process of discovery behind the piece she created. Prisbrey, a 2024 recipient of the Margaret H. Knote Fine Arts Scholarship, also shared the history of her graphic design journey, and her takeaways about the M.F.A. program at the Eskenazi School.
Forough Sehat: It was very exciting to hear about your new artwork at McCalla! Let's talk about your process for this particular project. How did you come up with the idea? Was it something you had been interested in before, or did something during your first semester spark your curiosity?
Ellie Prisbrey: It was really a combination of several factors. For "Inspired by Inquiry," we were given a prompt to use one of Indiana University’s special collections as inspiration or a point of reference. That was challenging because there are so many collections, and I couldn’t initially find one that fit with my work. While I was searching, I found a great deal on some vending machines on Facebook Marketplace and thought they had potential, even though I wasn’t sure what the final piece would be.
I’d been wanting to explore capitalism and consumer culture, but it can feel overwhelming—very dark and hopeless. During my research in the Moving Image Archive, I found these old 1970s educational videos about money and consumer behavior, essentially explaining how capitalism works. At the end of each video, there’s a sponsor list featuring some notoriously problematic American corporations—like Exxon—known for various scandals and exploitative practices.
At the same time, I learned more about the concept of "greedflation," an economic idea that has been getting attention lately. Purdue University has done studies on the rising cost of food in Indiana and how inflation—especially for food—has soared in recent years. Putting all of this together, I decided vending machines would be a perfect way to address greedflation. Instead of focusing on corporate greed, though, I wanted to highlight individual action—how an everyday person could help someone facing food insecurity.
Forough: Do you have any knowledge about the background of the archival movies you used for these projects? For example, who was their target audience?
Ellie: Yes. Those films were designed for middle school and high school students, teaching them about money and consumer economics. It’s surprising because some of the economic theories are quite complex, yet they were aimed at adolescents.
Forough: It’s fantastic that you’re exploring archival materials most students don’t even know exist! Since the piece involves a vending machine, will visitors actually pay for something when they interact with it?
Ellie: Yes! It’s an old sticker-vending machine that takes quarters. I created a series of 300 risograph prints, each representing a food item that costs the same amount you pay for the print. Every print is priced at one dollar (in quarters), and the proceeds go to a local food pantry in Bloomington to help address food insecurity.
Forough: Do you see yourself continuing with this line of inquiry—consumer behavior, food insecurity, and related themes?
Ellie: I’m not entirely sure yet. I’m definitely still interested in consumer behavior and how we assign value to things. Food insecurity is an important issue for me, but I’m at a point where my work could go in several different directions. The response to this piece has been great, and because I’m new to the area, it’s been a wonderful way to connect with the community. It’s certainly an option to continue, but I don’t have any concrete plans right now.
