Artifact 3: Is Food 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 artform.
Consider cultural differences in the production and consumption food.

Original Post:

Almost everyone considers food as a necessity because it comes from the natural desire of hunger. However, how many people will look food as art? What kind of person can appreciate food as art when they are having dinner? If food can be art, it might have other meanings more than just something we can eat. I think if food becomes art, it must carry on some specific meanings such as taste, emotion, consumption, value and power. Food itself does not have these meanings, so it needs creators, conditions and certain type of audience that can really appreciate food and art.

In Wiliam Deresiewcz’s article “A Matter of Taste”, he mentions that food has not led to art, but it has replaced it. In his opinion, food relates to the sociological characteristics such as culture, class and conspicuous consumption. “It is a vehicle of status aspiration and competition, an ever-present occasion of snobbery, one upmanship and social aggression” (Deresiewcz). Afterwards, the author gives two examples of you men that want to move in the circles of power and kids at elite school that look to the expressive possibilities of careers in food. He also indicates the multiple functions and meanings that food has developed in today’s society. In the end, Deresiewcz argues that food for all is not art because it does not have senses and emotions. There is another article called “When Art and Food Unite” from Wall Street Journal. Jemima Sissons, the author of the article, provides some good examples to illustrate a new appreciation of restaurants and galleries.

If food is art, is all food art? In the video “Fast Food”, it shows fast food is an industrial commodity assembled by machines. It can be totally same and repeatable. If one apple pie is considered to be art, how do you define the other thousands apple pies? Deresiewcz argues that food for all is not art. He mentions, “Both begin by addressing the senses, but that is where food stops. It is not narrative or representational, does not organize and express emotion.” That is to say, food in general cannot express emotions and stories. His idea is very similar to what Elizabeth Telfer’ states in her article “Food As Art”. She thinks food cannot represent anything as most literature and much visual art does. Also, food cannot move people in the way that music and the other major arts can. Their ideas give a standard of defining whether or not food is art. If food is considered to be art, it must have meanings that can communicate with its audience.

Is food art for everyone? What kind of people will really appreciate food by its taste, color and smell? As Deresiewcz says, “American were discovering their senses – learning to value pleasure, distinguish subtle differences, and make fine judgments – and sensual responsiveness is the basis of artistic sensibility.” Therefore, I think the difference of appreciating food as art depends on the creator who makes the food and the audience who eats the food in what kind of restaurant. The artist is the creator of an artwork, so the artwork is a way to represent the artist’s idea and emotion. If a dish is an artwork, the chef must be the artist. In Sissons’ article “When Art and Food Unite”, he introduces some restaurant in London have employed artisits. One of the chefs said,“Artisits bring something different to food”. In these restaurants, people come into the exhibition and eat. The duty of the artists is to make a relation between space, table and food. Food is a vehicle for the artists to show their talents and creativity. “Restaurants are a great medium for art if you got it right,” says Mr. Hix, who curated many artworks at several restaurants (Sissons). However, not everyone can appreciate food as art in this kind of restaurants. The restaurants are a combination of high culture and high taste. They are definitely different from Subway or Burger King. As Deresiewcz says, “Food now expresses the symbolic values and absorbs the spiritual energies of the educated class. It has become invested with the meaning of life.” His point of view is not similar to Telfer’s idea. She does not discuss the audiences of the food specifically, and she also does not consider the fact that the development of society and education can change the way of appreciating food. Social factors have influenced how young people evaluate the functions of food. “Food is highly developed as a system of sensation, extremely crude as a system of symbols,” says Deresiewcz.

Reflection:

I made two pictures of my food and drinks. Do you think they are art?

Future:

I do believe we can make art by using food as materials. Also, I want to make a piece of artwork myself. It could be a dish, a desert or a painting. I want it to be colorful and can represent my personal creativity. Why do I want to do this? I want to find the connection between food and art. Someone thinks food cannot be art because it doesn’t tell story. If I, as the creator of the food artwork, put a story into the dish, I want to know how the audience will interpret the emotion and meaning of the food. Furthermore, I want to go to some food galleries that were mentioned on WSJ.

Reference:

Telfer, E. (2002). Food as art. In Neill, A. & Ridley, A (Eds.), Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2 ed., pp. 9-27). New York: Routledge.

Deresiewcz. W (2012, October 29). A Matter of Taste. The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/opinion/sunday/how-food-replaced-art-as-high-culture.html?_r=0

Sissons. J (2012, September 27). When Food and Art Unite. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2014 from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443995604578000141840105764