Art is Food, Food is Art

Art is Food, Food is Art

Who said that food is just that – a food? Sceptics, perhaps. In reality, there is as much creativity about the things that are stored in the fridge as about the oil paints. Have you ever thought that you can make food look like art or you can make art from food? Oh, and if you think that these two categories are quite the same, you are very much mistaken.

Nowadays there are a lot of artist who experiment with materials, space and concepts. There are few among them who use food to create their masterpieces. Have you ever heard about foodscapes, for instance? They are created by British photographer Carl Warner. Not everyone might recognise that everything on his photographs is made of the actual edible items. However, once you look closer, you can find everything from rice to seafood, from broccoli to bread there. Carl creates conventional landscapes using very unconventional materials. He admits that the goal is to make the viewers believe that they are looking at a real scene and then make them smile once they realise that everything is made of food.

Foodscape by Carl Warner
The husband and wife team of Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida also use food to create their photographs, but they produce something completely different to the Warner’s foodscapes. They create their peculiar version of the micro universe, where everything is not quite the way it looks. The team’s photographs always go in pairs. The first one introduces the subjects in a particular setting, while the second one reveals the entire set and most of the time amazes the viewer.

However, not only art can be made of food, but food can be turned into art. Have you ever noticed that you enjoy the dish presented in a very nice and elaborate much more that the one that had been just piled up on your plate. In fact, it is relatively easy to turn each meal in a tiny art exhibition of sorts.

For example, carrots, parsnips and potatoes can be turned in a very decorative garnish. All you need is a sharp knife and your imagination. You can make leek asters, for instance. To make them, cut off leek roots and cut off the piece 3-4cm long. With a sharp knife, make frequent cuts, not splitting the bottom. Then make frequent cross cuts. Soak the asters in cold water for a day and sprinkle with beet juice just before serving. Asters combined with roses made of tomatoes make a great bouquet. You can also slice a small radish and lay out a flower out of thin rounds. A piece of carrot can be used as a core, while the stalk can be made of cucumber. A simple fish salad can be turned into a work of art if it is arranged nicely. Arrange the salad as a hill, decorate the sides of a “hill” with pieces of salmon and crown the top with a “tulip” made of any vegetable and put thin slices of cucumber or radish around the “hill”. Finally, you can always use dressing to make an ornament on the sides.

To conclude, when it comes to food, the limit is exactly where your imagination ends. If you think that you are not ready to make art masterpieces from food, you can always create small masterpieces in your kitchen by turning regular meals into something more exciting.

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