Feasting on Art

This recipe was devised as an accompaniment to the previous dish, spatchcock stuffed chicken. By cooking the beets over a long period of time with a low amount of heat, the natural sugars in the vegetable caramelize producing a sweetness which is echoed by the balsamic reduction. This dish almost didn’t make it to the table due to my spring-loaded oven doors. Luckily a quick catch saved the beets which proved to be a perfect pairing with the poultry.

Ed Ruscha, Stains, 1973
beet juice and pulp on paper, 58 x 74cm, Private collection

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I am pleased to announce that I will be curating an art + food exhibition in October at Brenda May Gallery. We are now accepting proposals from professional practicing artists in Australia and New Zealand so please read the exhibition brief below and contact the Gallery with any questions or visit the submissions page for further details.

‘Art + Food – Beyond the Still Life’ – October 2012

This exhibition will consider the representation of food within the visual arts and beyond the standard still life tableaux. The consumption of food is a universally shared experience, enabling people viewing the exhibition to connect with the issues surrounding consumerism, food production and cultural identity.
Proposals for this show must be received by Friday 27 July, 2012.

As a creature of habit, I have had cucumber sandwiches on the menu for the last week and have been exceedingly satisfied. A couple of days ago I decided to improve upon the quick pickle in the original post and this recipe for a mustard seed & garlic variety was the result. The pickles still come together very quickly, leaving plenty of time for other matters which in my case consisted of lusting after a new couch on The Furniture Market. With their pungent aroma, the mustard seeds impart an earthy flavour with the sharpness of the raw garlic providing a hit of umami.

Erwin Wurm, Selbstporträt als Essiggurkerl, (Self-Portrait as a pickle), 2008
acrylic, acrylic paint, painted wooden platforms, 36 piece installation, © VBK, Wien, 2010

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Currently on view at the Begovich Gallery at California State University, Fullerton is the exhibition ‘Acquired Taste: Food and the Art of Consumption’ curated by Alyssa Cordova & Heather Richards of Sickpack projects. The show runs until the 8th of December and features artists whose work focuses on food as subject matter or subtext. Of the show, the curators write, “Artists chosen highlight our reciprocal relationship to food: what we consume, how we consume it and how it consumes us.

Food is not merely nourishment; it is emblematic of who we are or who we desire to become. It has the ability to tie us to our cultural roots or divide us by delineating class, taste and status. It also acts as a social lubricant, comforting us in times of crisis or, when shared among friends, becomes a manifestation of our affection and regard for those we love.

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The artist Julie Green has been working for more than a decade on her series titled The Last Supper comprised of painted china illustrating the final meal requests of death row inmates in the United States. The menus, gleaned from newspaper clippings and websites humanize a sect of society typically disregarded by the general public. Green paints the menus of The Last Supper series with mineral paint on appropriated dishes she collects from shops and stores. The plates range from delicate white porcelain to heavy cream crockery and the foods from each menu inform the choice of dish, “For dinner food, a heavy plain plate would be appropriate. If the meal is lasagna and shrimp, that might call for a fine porcelain plate.” Gazing from one plate to another, a culinary portrait of the United States begins to emerge. The most beloved menus from each region are singled out to be the last earthly delight of a condemned inmate. From tamales and enchiladas in Texas to boiled crawfish in Louisiana, the regional menus give a sense of the ethnic background of each prisoner.

Julie Green, Mississippi 23 July 1947, 2011
Cobalt mineral paint on kiln-fired ceramic plates, 22.8 x 22.8 x 2.5cm
Fried chicken and watermelon served to a 15-year old and a 16-year old boy.

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