19th March- MATERIAL CONSIDERATION- Food in art//edible art Research

19th March- 

Food in art//Edible art Research
'How text lives' Exposition edible aspect 




Research sites used-
http://emptyeasel.com/2009/04/16/the-long-history-of-food-in-art/
 http://www.momtastic.com/webecoist/2008/12/15/food-artists-and-sculptors

I have been doing research into food in art and edible art. Within my research I have found that food in art was mainly featured as still life subjects for a very long time. It's a long tradition that these items feature in western painting that has been produced historically. They also feature outside of the west in a form of celebration of the foods place within life.

'Historical studies show that the Greeks and Romans prided themselves in the realistic depiction of food in artworks. (glass bowl of fruit was commonly included in Roman paintings to boast of the delicacies that the rich citizens of Rome enjoyed, and of the generous hospitality they had to offer). Even farther back, archaeologists have found drawings of food on the walls of Egyptian pyramids. In ancient Egyptian culture it was believed that those drawings, through magical properties, would nourish those gone on to the after life.'

This made me muse on the irony of the truth of that then and now with use of food. Although we may not use food now, the west uses social media and alike to showcase wealth and boast. Seeing the cultural differences between depiction of food through history is interesting.

'During the Renaissance period, still life objects (often including food) were subtly incorporated into paintings with religious themes. Realism and meticulous detail were prized, and in the late 15th century as interest in strictly religious paintings waned, everyday objects such as vases of flowers became popular by themselves.'

Religion also features within the history of food in art which is not surprising. I'm am not sure there is any aspect of art that was not reached by religion due to its original use to dictate the image and belief of those who saw it. There are so many religious connotations used in modern life, even the design for my edible aspect could be considered reminiscent of the Wafer in church or the breaking of bread to pass around the congregation as one is blessed. The bitter slab with the written text upon it will be broken and a piece taken by each person that enters.

Dieter Roth

Artist Dieter Roth experimented with organic materials – including food – while working as a visiting professor at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1965. He smeared chocolate and banana on canvas, assembled piles of chocolate and butter into sculptures and sealed slices of sausage between glass with every intention of allowing them to decay and mold to see how the work would evolve.

As I have been doing my research I have found that a lot of the 'food art' was not made with the intention of it being eaten afterwards. This throws up a number of ethical issues for me personally.  The fact that many of the artist are in the west making artwork from food when there is a large portion of people in the world that do not have access to enough food to survive. Therefore, personally I do not feel this is ethical. I think it is wasteful and exercises and flexes 'western privilege'. This isn't often realised or challenged unfortunately. This for me would offer to much irony within the work. This is why the work I make will be eaten and not wasted. I do not want to be merely flexing  a privilege while making commentary on western academia and overarching capital colonilaisation.

However, regardless of that, 'food' and edible material throws up its own connotations in terms of the life it can live. A lot of food is not long lasting, meaning that the work will have a shelf life and eventually will deteriorate. This leads on to the concept that another person will be eating a piece of my work and digesting it. My work has been literally internalised. The ability for the viewer to have a piece of work become part of them. This to me is a sort of metaphor for being a carrier of a message and concept.