The National Bitter Melon Council Mascot
A National Bitter Melon Council Participatory Public Intervention, (2006 – present)
The Topsfield Fair, Topsfield, MA
The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
The Boston Metro Area (various locations)
During the Topsfield fair (pictured), we traveled fairgrounds as the National Bitter Melon Council Mascot. There, we were observing and understanding the particular culture of the oldest agricultural fair in the USA, disguising ourselves as a friendly mascot for an unfriendly-flavored and foreign vegetable that, to most people’s eyes, looked like a cucumber, a pickle, a string bean, or other more familiar fruits and vegetables (they never guessed it was a Bitter Melon).
Not only did people map their preconceptions onto the mascot’s form, they acted out their emotional projections on the “other” that was the mascot – hugging, hitting, kicking, pulling, and otherwise playing around with it. At the Topsfield Fair, the reactions to “foreignness” of Bitter Melon at the NBMC Educational Exhibit Booth and through confusion around and emotional reactions to the mascot reflected the impact of the foreignness of the Council itself. Is the NBMC a cultural mirror, a cultural product, or a cultural instigator? And is the mascot a friendly promotional tool, a confusing gigantic pickle-shaped puppet, a boy, a girl? Perhaps all of the above.
The mascot continues to appear in various locations in Boston and across the country. It has appeared at art fairs, on city streets, at block parties, and more. In each location, some people see it and recognize it immediately. Others are confused, or dismayed by the fact that it is not, actually, a giant zucchini. The mascot provokes joy, anger, fear, wonder, and curiosity in almost equal parts. As one mascot viewer put it: “I know it’s a Bitter Melon. But I’m still going to call it a giant pickle, because I like pickles better.”
