Curated Meal, 2014
food, plates, art making utensils, eating utensils, humans
At a time when I was questioning the meaning of making, and the worth of putting physical things into the world, the only thing that felt right was to “make” a meal. I manipulated the food as I would an art material, slicing grapes into thin slivers, peeling multi colored carrots until there was a pile of strange looking purple noodles. I thought this meal represented literally what I wanted my work to do— be visually pleasing, but more importantly: feed, nurture, and create sites of connection and collaboration.
Literature and art making materials were also arranged on the table to enjoy and to use as tools. I liked the idea of presenting these three things in close proximity: food, literature, art materials. The fork is a utensil, but so is a needle. The colored pencil can be used to express through color, but so can the blueberry. Food can feed us; so can literature.
This installation was presented to classmates who enjoyed, shared and manipulated the curated items. After the participants left the table was investigated and photographed, similar to an archaeological dig site. The photographs provide evidence of how the tools were used.
