Unit 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 artform.
- Consider cultural differences in the production and consumption food.
Artifact: Is Food Art?
Trying to decide if food is art is a tough endeavor to take one. First one would have to have a good definition and understanding of what one considers to be art. In Ellen Dissanayake’s essay she described art as being “art for art’s sake (or even life for art’s sake) … that art had no purpose but to “be” and to provide opportunities for enjoying an aesthetic experience that was its own reward, and that one could have no higher calling than to open oneself to these heightened moments” (Dissanayake, pg. 18). This is a long winded way of basically saying that art is just to be enjoyed for the beauty of it, but I feel this is a good starting point. In another essay entitled Food as ArtElizabeth Tefler suggests that “Our reaction is aesthetic, in many simple cases, if it is based solely on how the object appears to the senses.” (Tefler, pg. 9). So combining these two ideals gives us the simple concept of art being aesthetic if it pleases our senses and that it should just be enjoyed because it pleases us. Using this ideal as a basis for answering the question: is food art? I feel the answer would simply be yes. Food, and drink included, is something that can be pleasing to many of our senses and can be experienced in many ways. A highly decorated wedding cake will be pleasing to look at for the aesthetic craftsmanship that the cake maker has put in to it. Assuming the flavors of the cake are ones that please a person palate, then this would be aesthetic by the definition of Tefler alone. Combining the sense of smell to the mix of senses and an aromatic cocktail drink would please the sense and therefore classify as aesthetic as well. We should go a little further on the definition of art that has been laid out above though since I feel that something mass produced on a conveyor belt would not be considered art, even if it did met the aesthetic pleasure of our senses. I feel that art should be unique and have an original creativity to it. This brings us back to the wedding cake and the cocktail drink. Both a cake maker and a cocktail specialist have the ability to create something from scratch that they know will be pleasing to the sight, smell, and taste of any potential “viewer” of their art/final product. And with these added senses for the use of defining aesthetic art the cake and the cocktail actually have more reasons to be considered art than just a painting, a picture, a drawing, or a sculpture. With the creativity of making an original piece of art, the functionality of the product being able to be consumed, and the fact that it can be called aesthetic based on the fact it pleases our sense I feel there should be no debate on whether food is art or not, because it is.
Reflection:
Trough discussing if food is art, we have examined 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. Of course, we explored the notion of food as an artform. I believe that art should be considered as art because food can please us in aesthetics and it has unique creativity.
Mass-produced products cannot be considered as artwork because it do not have unique creativity. For some natural food without artificial production, it also cannot be considered as art, such as vegetable or fruit. However, if artists artificially give artistic change to the raw food, it could be considered as artwork. Just like the above image which shows a whale that be created on a cucumber.
Future Intention:
In the future, I would like to take more aesthetic considerations when I eat foods. I think I will evaluate that food based on the knowledge that I learned in this course.
Bibliography:
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