Artifact 4: Food as art?

04
May
2015

Artifact 4: Food as art?

Objectives:

Examine methods for evaluating qualities of art, such as product versus process, the difference between craft and fine art, must art be archival, and what is an aesthetic reaction
Explore the notion of food as an art form
Consider cultural differences in the production and consumption

Original Post:

Depending on the way food is being utilized. Referring back to Unit 3 where we challenged our ideas and opinions on what we interpret art, my current definition of art would be anything that provokes emotion or a feeling. When I look at food, there are times where I feel nostalgic when the food presented to me reminds me of my past or fond memory of some sort. On the contrary there are times where I don’t even care about what my food looks like because I am too hungry to care. I feel when looking at food in real life, a painting, a picture or a video, I would lean towards the aesthetic reaction Elizabeth Tefler opens her piece with as my reasoning to why I think food is a form of art.

In the article by Elizabeth Tefler, she mentions the easily misconception of looking at a piece of work, whether it be in a form of “machinery” or an actual piece of art, and appreciating the aesthetics of the object and interpreting it’s aesthetics as beauty or simply a “species of pleasure” (Tefler, pg. 9). If a chef were to beautifully plate a bowl of cereal, I may feel inclined to make an opinion in the direction of saying that this bowl of cereal is beautiful. However, I feel as though my past experiences with a bowl of cereal or memories that flood my mind when looking at cereal may interfere with a critical examination of the “art work” that has been placed before me. In Dissanayake’s essay, she makes a point about art being somewhat of a supreme value and a “source for heightened personal experience” (Dissanayake, pg. 22). So if I were to experience this “heightened” experience, would it be right for me to make the assumption that this dressed up bowl of flax is art? Dissanayake also mentions that an artist would not design something just to go through the motions but to “deliberately” (Dissanayake, pg. 22) go out to make something special. The chef is the artist in the background conducting the presentation of his masterpiece. People put so much time, energy, and even go to school to perfect “the art” of cooking. If an individual were to “make their food with love” I would agree that food is a form of art. If I were casually presented a bowl of cereal for breakfast, I would not think it’s art. Although I do contradict myself here as I know I would develop a feeling of being hungry. In the end, I do think that food is art as when we do see a piece of steak decoratively dressed in a nicely colored sauced and garnished with rosemary is a pleasing sight to see.

Reflection:

I had asked my boyfriend earlier today if how he felt about the standpoint whether or not food could be or is considered a form of art. He had a similar opinion to that of mine in a sense where there are some cases that food could be thought of as an art and not in under other circumstances. One of my colleagues who is enrolled in this course at the moment had brought a provoking idea to my mind when reading over their blog. The idea of cake decorating and baking is majority of the time seen as an art. The way the baker must precisely make cuts and use steady hands to lace intricate designs according to what the customer is asking for. I think we must think food as an art as we design other objects such as wedding dresses, adorn t-shirts, and even have contests for the most aesthetically pleasing as well as tasting food items.

On the other hand, the food that is not considered art, in my opinion, would be the fast food places such as Burger King, Taco Bell, and McDonalds to name a few. The food that is being sold from places like these should not be considered art. It may seem aesthetically pleasing on the commercials, in real life they should not be perceived as art. They are massed produced and are preserved in chemicals that slowly infect and ruin your digestive system.In Elizabeth Tefler’s article titled “Food as Art,” she brings up valid points about why we sometimes consider food as art. She talks about the foods that should be considered art that are “intended by their cooks to be considered…to be savoured, appraised, thought about, discussed” (pg. 19). The products that the fast food restaurants sell, in my opinion, do not carry these qualities. Yes I do see the argument in which one could make that the McDouble is savory and deserves appraisal for being one of the tastiest fast food burgers on the block. However, I do not agree. An individual could rebuttal against my claim as everyone has a different opinion of what art is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6Hh6tQj2w

Above is a skeptical accusation about McDonald’s chicken McNuggets made with real chicken. Previously there were rumors around the internet that the chicken McNuggets were made from pink slime. However, this video proves it is not but also still shows the fact that chickens are killed in massive numbers and grounded through huge machinery to produce those yummy little nuggets. Seeing the line of masticated chickens nearly breaks your heart to see that large amount of animals that have been slaughtered. If you think this is art, I would be very curious to know what part of this seems like an art form to you.

This little lady right here is Sylvia Weinstock. She is one of the most infamous wedding cake architects of all time. She creates these magnificent wedding cakes that people pay ridiculous money for. I was watching an episode of Outrageous Wedding Cakes on the Food Network channel some time ago when I stumbled across a cake done by Ms. Weinstock. She creates her cakes because of her love for baking. I believe her work is truly a work of art. As mentioned in Telfer’s article, she mentions food feeding our “aesthetic reactions” (pg. 17) and how we have a tendency to be drawn to the beauty of the food presentation which could easily be mistaken for admiring the work that was put into the product. Seeing the work of Ms. Weinstock proves to me that food could definitely be considered as art.

There are also contradictions of food being art between different cultural backgrounds. In some religions, certain animals are seen as gods and higher powers such of that in the Hindu religion. Some of the deities are represented in animal forms. Individuals who practice certain religions may not see food as an art and more as a higher power. One of my peers wrote their blog about how food in her country was once scarce and is now heavily appreciated. They expressed the idea of how every dish is cooked in a creative way due to their history and famine. I believe that having a history where not being able to have food readily available would give me a different perspective on food.

Future goals:

I will take this learning experience with me in the future and take the time to appreciate that I am so lucky to have food whenever I feel like. After this concept being brought my attention, I have never though about food being considered an art form. Now seeing the opinions and perspective of my peers, I come to realize that yes food is considered an art depending on the context and the way food is being used and processed. With my better understanding of one theory of our origin for our feelings towards art in Dutton’s Ted Talk and the idea of using art as an early outlet for survival (pg. 16) from Dissanayake’s article, I have a better recognition of how to appreciate the idea of food as art. I still need to explore other reasons why people do or do not see food as art. It would be interesting to me on the reasons why people do not view food as art and under what circumstances besides the one I have posed for my own reasoning.

Bibiolography:

Bee. (2009, April 4). New York Bridal Shows | Weddingbee. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/04/04/new-york-bridal-shows/

Long, J. (2015, April 22). Jingyi Long’s site. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/aad250jingyi/2015/04/22/food-as-art-discussion/

Our food. Your questions. What are McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets made of? (2014, December 4). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6Hh6tQj2w

Wellman, V. (2012, March 2). The incredible confections of cake-maker to the stars, Sylvia Weinstock (and at 82, she’s not hanging up her apron anytime soon). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2109286/Sylvia-Weinstock-The-incredible-confections-cake-maker-stars.html

Wedding Cake Queen Sylvia Weinstock. (2010, January 14). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V22cMo3mLUQ

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