“Big Load” inhabits Southwestern Michigan College’s Art Gallery until Oct. 6 despite a dwindling number of dog decals.

Las Vegas artists Justin Favela and Mikayla Whitmore, who visited Eau Claire last summer, encourage viewers to help themselves to vinyl stickers depicting 68 breeds of canine countenances.

“They want you to have that rush you’re getting a great deal,” SMC Art Professor Shannon Eakins explained.

“Justin and Mikayla are friends of ours from Vegas,” Visual and Performing Arts Department Chairman Marc Dombrosky said.

Favela is known for pinatas featured in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., founded by Walmart’s founder’s daughter.

“They see a crossover between our modest, quiet culture and their explosive Las Vegas culture,” Eakins said. “Consumerism is universal in making us feel we’re getting ahead. You have to dance a fine line in discount shopping because if it looks too good, people would be suspicious it’s a great deal. They love that we communicate when a pancake breakfast is going by these signs at 60 mph. They are used to glossy magazines and LED signs 80 feet wide.”

“The idea a guest walking into the exhibition can take a sticker breaks down a wall between viewer and creator, allowing them to take a memento for their personal collection or, even better, taking a sticker and spreading it out into the world,” Whitmore said. “I could only imagine a few weeks into the show, if every student took a sticker and started placing them around Dowagiac. The general public unassuming, however once in a while, a student or someone familiar with the exhibition walks by and finds the sticker — instantly pulling them back to a place or memory.

“Self-regulation comes into play,” she said. “A person’s manners are tested, similar to when a child trick-or-treats at Halloween, coming across a free candy bucket at the neighbor’s doorstep. Do you take one Snickers bar or as many handfuls as you can before the next batch of kids come across it? It’s in moments alone you start to see who you are, how you would act if someone was watching.”

“Justin and I had a similar experience when we found the dog stickers at the Charleston Indoor Swap Meet in Las Vegas. They were all placed in a giant blue bucket (labeled) FREE. We both got super giddy and started digging, stuffing our pockets until he had the great thought to offer the seller, who hadn’t seen us yet, $20 for all.”

Whitmore, Greenspun Media Group photographer, said photographs incorporate Dowagiac with the changing chair in Frese Discount Center’s shoe section near Indian Lake.

“Despite where items originated,” Whitmore said, “a viewer walking into the gallery might not be able to distinguish which came from where, speaking to the notion abundant commercialism is everywhere.

“Sellers’ faces may change and desert mountains surrounding Las Vegas may be replaced with overcast clouds above Shipshewana, but the feeling is the same,” Whitmore said. “Walking through rows of neon-colored sunglasses and having the aroma of smoked meats billowing through the air feels like home no matter what city I’m in. Yes, I buy things I had no prior knowledge of knowing I needed, but somehow feel better for having.

“No matter if a person is rich, middle-class or hard on their luck, everyone loves a deal or a free bonus item with purchase. I believe retail strategies are similar for all types of goods, high-end or discount. Small nuances come into play depending on the audience marketed. With high-end goods, often the point is to make buyers think the item is exclusive or limited-edition, making the buyer elite and extra special. With bargain goods, it is about making the buyer get a high from scouring a really good deal or large amounts of one item to last a while. Even though strategies vary from exclusive to mass appeal, the end goal is the same — getting people to buy.”

Dowagiac inspired the Big Load title.

“During our first trip to southwestern Michigan we came across a sign that said that. It stuck with us and seemed to spur the exhibition,” Whitmore said.

The art gallery is located in room 108 of the Dale A. Lyons Building on the Dowagiac campus. Hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Big Load is first among three fall-semester shows.

The faculty exhibit Oct.11-Nov. 10 pays tribute to Professor Emeritus Terry Pfliger, who died in June. A Nov. 17 reception coincides with the second annual STEMcon.

Southwestern Michigan College is a public, residential and commuter, community college, founded in 1964. The college averages in the top 10 percent nationally for student academic success based upon the National Community College Benchmark Project. Southwestern Michigan College strives to be the college of first choice, to provide the programs and services to meet the needs of students, and to serve our community. The college is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges.