What reminds you of the 20th century?

This was a question The Octagon Center for the Arts recently asked local Story County artists.

The museum wanted pieces of art for their latest exhibit, “Pop Culture — America in the 20th Century,” which is currently on display at the downtown Ames art center.

The exhibit displays 27 pieces of artwork that represent the 20th Century and was judged by world-renowned, Ankeny-based artist Curt Stahr.

Kristin Benson, curator for The Octagon, said the pieces are not only interesting, but fun and nostalgic.

“A lot of these things really reflect on when we grew up, like the ‘Star Wars’ piece,” Benson said, pointing to the artwork titled “Anakin’s Spaceship.” “I was always a huge Star Wars fan, and that was always a part of the 20th Century to me and the time that I grew up.”

Another interesting piece is “Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.” A large white plate is on display, while eight charred and blackened cookies sit on the blue edges of the fancy plate.

“Carrie Nation Deals with Y2K Bug” displays a gutted computer monitor, wires exposed. The radiant colors of a butterfly hologram that hang inside the screen are hit by the monitor’s light. An axe splits the top of the monitor, while wires poke out of the top.

The colorful “Mona Lisa on a Paper Bag” is another piece depicting the artist’s perception of the 20th Century. A close resemblance of the Mona Lisa is colored on an everyday grocery bag with crayons.

The crayons that have presumably decorated this piece of art fill the bag to the top. The artist seems to be trying to convey that in the 20th Century, things as unique and precious as the Mona Lisa have become as common as a grocery bag and are exploited in mass quantities.

The first place award went to Patricia Kimle for her work titled “MCM.” The piece of art appears to be a bendable, six-inch-tall wooden fence at first glance. It’s actually a look back throughout the MCM, or the 1900 century, as the Roman numerals communicate.

Her piece was made of polymer clay, which is a soft, synthetic clay that hardens with heat. The vertically positioned piece has stamps from the 20th century attached to one side.

Kimle said it was hard to narrow down the list of stamps, but she had a certain criteria for who she wanted to represent the 20th Century.

“I was kind of trying to go for people who were either problem solvers and made a contribution, but also people who exhibited creativity,” Kimle said.

Louis Armstrong was one of those. He stands out against the purple background of the stamp while blowing on the trumpet, cheeks puffed. Armstrong was a well-known trumpeter and singer in the 1960s, and left his mark on the jazz world. The stamp is placed next to his quote, “What we play is life.”

Elvis Presley was another artist who must have exhibited creativity in Kimle’s mind. The young and dark-haired rock star is crooning into the microphone in the stamp placed next to his quote, “Love me tender, love me true.”

Don’t forget about the problem solvers. There are two space exploration stamps titled “Exploring the Moon,” and “Probing the Planet.”

Although Kimle seems to have chosen significant people and moments in our country’s history, she laughed about her favorite quote.

“My favorite would be the Walt Disney one: ‘Let us never forget that it all began with a mouse,'” Kimle said.