Artifact 4: Is Food Art?

Objectives:

Examine methods for evaluating qualities of art, such as product versus process, the difference between craft and fine art, msut 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 food.

Original Post:

With my own personal opinion I would have to state that I believe that most food is art. The creation and the effort that the chef puts into his/her food is what makes it an art form. The creativity and the planning behind what the chef does is what make me consider it an art form. Relating back to last weeks article by Ellen Dissanayake, she refers to the term called, “making special.” This term along with the discussion of if food is a form of art go hand and hand. Creating a meal out of food can relate to the term making special because more often then not the cook making the meal is using his/her own creativity and in return, once the meal is made, he or she gets that joy in themselves from creating their own masterpiece. They get the joy out of making special because when people start getting their creative juices flowing it brings out another side of them then what they may be used too.

I believe though at the same time, not all food is the same and not all food should be considered art to a certain point. Two things to compare in this would be a gourmet meal at a higher inn restaurant such as a winery, and a meal made at McDonalds. There is a reason that the gourmet meal is going to be a lot more expensive than the one at McDonalds. First off because the food is going to be a lot better, but secondly, the gourmet meal is being made especially from the head chef of that restaurant and the gourmet meal is not something that is easily attainable. The more and more something is made from the quantity stand point, the more I believe it goes down in its value. Since there are thousands and thousands of cheeseburgers made from McDonalds every day, the value is going to go down compared to what the gourmet meal’s value is at.

It’s the same as an art painting. If there are a thousand of one painting, the value of that painting will be of much less than value then if there was just one of the same painting.

Reflection:

The picture above of what looks like a lady made out of food is shown because of the particular topic at hand. Although it is not what I discuss in my previous response or my reflection now, but the photo above gives the image that food is considered art through the visual image of what one can do with food. One argument that I do bring up in the response is whether or not all food should be considered art. For my response, I believe that not all food should be considered art. Food such as fast food, should not be. I believe in this because fast food is something that is made over and over again with little effort. Food that is made in a high end restaraunt is something that I would consider to be a form of art. I believe so because that type of food is something that alot of time and effort go into from the chef.

This assignment helped me realize some of the diversitification amongst my classmates and I. Reading through alot of what other international students had to say about this particular topic was much more deeper than what I had for a response. It helped further my knowledge about what should be considered an art form for food. Many responses from various classmates involved history behind the food. Many gave insightful descriptions about how food in their culture is considered an art form due to how rich the history was behind the meal. Overall all though, I believe that art is something that is determined from an individual level. Everyone has their own opinion on whether or not something should be considerd an art, so if some think that a burger from mcdonalds is an art form, then that is their belief.

Future Goals:

This assignment got me thinking about different objects I see or use throughout the day and which of them I consider to be a piece of art. One thing that I would like to partake in the near future is to ask an artist his or herself about what they consider to be an art form. Not only ask them questions regarding that but also how they might determine what is to be considered a piece of art or not.