In a world of iGadgets and e-communication, it is easy to feel as though we might be losing touch with those essential elements that make us human. Art has always addressed questions of the human condition, and contemporary artists have increasingly been using food as a medium with which to connect to audiences. As food culture becomes more prevalent (think the Food Network and concurrent rise of celebrity chefs), and food systems become increasingly faceless (can anyone tell me which conglomerate owns Naked Juice or the Horizon Organic Milk brand?), it is only natural that those social guardians and illuminators of culture would turn to food as medium and message.
From Art Practical’s article Serving, Cooking, Giving It Away : Food, Art, and the Places in Between : “At a time when so much of our culture keeps us from developing in-person connections, feeding other people can be very gratifying, (Rosenberg) says. “There are lots of changes in the world, and I think people want to contribute. When you feed them, and it makes them feel good, then you feel good.”
In addition to taking stunning still life photographs, Laura Letinsky is a professor in the University of Chicago’s Visual Arts Program. Over the past year, she has been taking part in preparations for the University’s SMART Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition FEAST, which contains original art, documentary materials and new public projects situated around the idea of the meal as a medium.
From the exhibition’s curator, Stephanie Smith, on the FEAST Blog’s Welcome : “There are more artists working with the meal than I had imagined when I first proposed this exhibition, and as I gather more and more information about artist-orchestrated meals around the world, I’m trying to understand how the meal fits within in each artist’s practice and how it relates to their individual preoccupations. I’m also curious about whether trends will emerge and if strong connections will become visible within and across different generations and locations. (This is for the contemporary material; the historical sections are smaller and already more tightly formed.) And of course, the research process has to yield an exhibition in the gallery as well as in public sites, one that holds together conceptually and physically and brings out the best of the artists’ projects so they hold their own while also supporting the overall thematic framework.”
All photos by Laura Letinsky from The Dog & The Wolf series.
Related Reading :
Food & Wine | J. Morgan Puett: A Curator of Food Curiosities
Art Practical | 18 Reasons: A Conversation with Rosie Branson Gill and Leah Rosenberg
Art Practical | Farm Fresh Art : Food, Art, Politics, and the Blossoming of Social Practice
