I don’t think I’ve ever had aesthetic admiration towards a meal before, or if I have I didn’t recognize it as that at the time. Elizabeth Tefler, the author of this article brought up non food examples that I thought were interesting and made me think back to the times I had those experiences as well- seeing Niagara Falls for the first time or getting into a warm shower. I kept asking myself, did I have aesthetic admiration for either one of those things in the moment? Niagara Falls, being the more extravagant seems it would be the more aesthetically pleasing of the two things just because there are sights, sounds and even the feeling of the mist coming off the Falls if you get close enough. Now knowing how Tefler defines aesthetic admiration, “characterized as non-neutral, non-instrumental, having a certain intensity and often accompanied by judgments for which the judgers claim a kind of objectivity,” (pg 11). I would say that after seeing Niagara Falls you definitely have aesthetic admiration for the beautiful work of nature.
As far as considering food as art, I initially thought that this was a current cultural obsession; you can’t scroll through your Instagram feed without seeing what so and so had for brunch. But after reading Tefler’s article it seems like food has been art all along, or it has at least had the capability to fall under the category for a while. Here’s my question; can art be considered food for everyone? Recently a friend of mine suffered a bad concussion, which took away her sense of smell, losing your sense of smell affects your sense of taste. So, for people who have no sense of smell, would they only consider food as art if it were merely aesthetically pleasing to the eye? This is a strange case but think of those who have lost their sight too, would they only consider food as art if it merely tasted amazing?
Tefler, E. (2002). Food as Art. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 2). New York, NY: Routledge.
Katie,
Coming from a unique background I have always had an admiration toward the delicate procedure of creating fine cuisine. Having worked in restaurants and been guided by popular chefs in Portland my ideas about food and its connection to art have been strong since my introduction to the food scene. Granted, as a child food was just food and nothing more. Yet, as my pallet transcended from childhood to adolescence to adulthood my beliefs of food as an art form grew. Like seeing awe inspiring works such as Niagara Falls certain meals can create intense aesthetic admiration. Not only can a meal touch the senses, but also it can inspire us. When you talk about the loss of smell with your friend I believe that food completely changes. Food may still be art in the sense that it is aesthetically pleasing, yet the sense of smell, a key contributor to food, takes away from the overall experience. However, art is ambiguous and its up to the beholder to determine whether or not food, for them, is art or not, but for me food in a certain form will always be art.
Katie,
Your friends unique experience is one I did not consider while reading through this weeks material. So many people have different obstacles to work through and deal with on a daily basis and lose of certain senses being one that can completely change your perspective on life day by day as well as the effects of different aesthetic pleasures. However, I feel that for individuals lose of a sense can sometimes lead to increased pleasure in another. food can be enjoyed aesthetically in more ways than just being able to see the meal, a sense of smell can five you a just as much pleasure. say a person does lose their sight, but previously when they did have sight they enjoyed certain dishes made by family members or a restaurant, they have a visual of that in their head and when they smell this food again that visual comes back to them and gives them pleasure. I feel food can be considered an art form due to the art in its practice and the presentation.
First of all, I’m sorry to hear about that your friend suffered a bad concussion. I thought that you brought up a different opinions with others. First, I like the part that you describe Niagara Falls. I have never been to that place, but after read your post I really want to see. I can feel how it beautiful even I never been to here. And you relate the article to your personal feelings in the daily live. That is what I need to learn. For second part, you are not really think food as art. I agree part of your idea. Indeed, food might be less artistic for people who don’t has sense of smell, and sense of taste. However, these people also need to eat food. They have already lose their sense of smell and taste. People can only use sense of vision to increase their appetite. In my opinion, to consider food as art becomes more important for these people who have no sense of smell and taste. Isn’t it?
I really liked your question about whether you could still see food as art if you could no longer taste and had to base your opinion entirely on the visual aesthetics of the meal. I think that is an excellent question and in my opinion, it would depend on the food. Not all food is aesthetically pleasing, so without the added sense of smell or taste I think it would be difficult to consider it art. I think however, if it was something like a highly decorative dessert or an ice sculpture, the visual element would be the most important in your analysis of the object or item. The interesting thing about art is that it is so different from one person to another and each individual has a completely different idea about what does or does not make art. Your questions definitely give me a new perspective on the whole concept of food as art.