Is Food Art?
On my aunt’s kitchen wall in Oakland, CA there is a quote by the French lawyer and gastronome Jean Brillat-Savarin that says, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” In pondering the question, Is Food Art?, I found myself thinking about this quote over and over again. I believe what Brillat-Savarin is saying is that food is one of the great indicators of what makes us human – as individuals and in our societal/community roles. Certainly what makes us human greatly influences our decisions about how and why we create or evaluate art in a particular way. In this context, it seems to me that food should be considered a form of art.
In her piece, “Food As Art,” Elizabeth Telfer does a great job of framing the prevailing views about food as art and why she has a different point of view. Key to her view is her discussion of the notion of what is meant by the phrase “work of art” and that it can be used in a classifying way or an evaluative way. (12) Specifically Telfer says, “To use it in a classifying way is to say something about how the work is regarded, whereas to use it in an evaluative way is to say something about the extent to which is merits the label …”(12) In other words, in the classifying sense, a work of art is something the creator of the work, “intended it to be looked at or listened to with intensity, for it’s own sake.” (12) From my own experience as part of a family of “foodies” this is most definitely true when it comes to the creation of meals and special dishes. Further, in the video clip about slow food, the intentionality with which food is grown and prepared is very much in keeping with this idea. The food is to be consumed but it is also intended to be beautiful for it’s own sake. (Slow Food)
Since I hold the view that food can be art, the theory that best supports this is what Ellen Dissanayake calls “species-centered.” Dissanayake defines this as, “ … a more human future society and art will be specifies-centered – that is, will regard all humans as alike and in having the same fundamental needs.” (21) Further, this view of art sees art and the making of art as a fundamental human behavior. (22) Logically then, a key human behavior is our desire to “make special” those things that are important to us as individuals and for our communities. (22). These important things, including the making of food, “… encouraged and allowed the … oneheartedness of the group so they would work together in confidence and unity.”(24)
So, we have come full circle if we are to believe Brillat-Savarin. The food we prepare and eat tells us a great deal about our fundamental humanity and our desire to prepare it with intentional beauty is an artistic endeavor.