Senior Thesis Show is a series of nine untitled works that are very dramatic in the type of lighting he uses along with the classical style in which he paints. All the works on display convey the feeling of isolation and loneliness. With a combination of still life and figurative work, the paintings begin to tell a story of why his subjects are so isolated. After reading Rutledge's thesis paper it became very clear to me why he chose his subject. He writes:...I have become very interested in the anthropological phenomenon known as the cargo cult. Traditionally found in Melanesia, the term cargo cult refers to a native religious movement that claims that in the millennium the spirits of the dead will return and bring with them cargoes of modern goods to be distributed among its adherents. (1) Upon entering this exhibition the viewer is overwhelmed by the dramatic dark background present in all the works. Rutledge uses very concentrated light on his still lifes that contain sculptures of pink flamingos or fuzzy dice. He paints these subjects in a very classical style showing all the details and reality of what he uses to tell his story. Using pink flamingos and furry dice, Rutledge takes his subjects to a level of absurd sentimentality. These items take a person to another place like a tropical island or the nightlife of Las Vegas. They are treated as sacred objects in the other paintings too, with four different paintings of figures in white gloves holding a pink Beanie Baby flamingo. The use of the Beanie Baby flamingo was chosen to contemporaryize the plastic flamingo to fit our modern culture today. The figures are also very isolated against dark backgrounds like the native Melanesians in their Western culture. Rutledge explains further by saying: The individuals in my paintings appear in an isolated state; alone with their thoughts of the time to come. The painted subjects cling devoutly to their sacred flamingos with gloved hands usually reserved for sacred artifacts, fine works of art, and the like. My subjects are Western cargo cult members who cling to their precious religious objects (i.e. fantastical personal dreams) with the same religious reverence that native Melanesians hold for their Western physical objects..