Food As Art

Seeing the combination of food and art is not surprising, in fact, it is quite common. Viewing food as art is the same. Whether taken from a figurative or literal microdermabrasion point-of-view, food as art is a definite “thing.” The association between food and art goes as far back as 30,000 years, when cave walls were first decorated with images of wild animals hunted for food. Naturally, it has gone through a major evolution since. Prior to the Second World War at La Colombe d’Or, in the village of St Paul de Vence in Provence, early patrons, included names such as Bonnard, Léger, Matisse, and Picasso who sometimes paid for their meals or rooms with their works. (Their art can still be viewed from La Colombe d’Or’s hotel and restaurant.) In more recent times, renowned best metal detector artists have on occasion, been commissioned to create works for restaurants. The most notorious was Mark Rothko’s series of paintings for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York in the late ’50s. His gloomy, depressing works never graced its walls, which is just as well, given that Rothko completed the works but returned the advance, later stating that his purpose was to paint “something that will spoil the appetite of every son of a b— who ever eats in that room.” Some of these works, never shown in his lifetime, now hang on the hard money lenders south carolina walls of the Tate Modern. In the late 1990s, artist Damien Hirst created the decor for the restaurant called Pharmacy in London’s trendy Notting Hill. After it closed its doors in 2003, Sotheby’s managed to sell off the contents, including the butterfly paintings, cocktail glasses and bar stools, for a whopping £11 million. The proprietors of Pied à Terre, a two-star video camera stabilizer Michelin restaurant in London’s Fitzrovia district, have taken the food and art concept a step further by appointing an artist-in-residence. Having been in the business for 20 years, Pied à Terre has had a close relationship with artists. One of the founding investors was Pop Artist Richard Hamilton, who remained on the restaurant’s gas tankless water heater board until his death in September 2011. That’s just one aspect of the food and art relationship. Another is, food being the art itself, food that looks and tastes so good that its creation is elevated to art form. In this scenario, the chefs and the people turning out the high-quality produce that make up the ingredients—and perhaps we ought to tip our hats to mother nature as well—are the artists, and the wonderful food, their masterpieces. Food as art is not an outlandish concept. It is a notion that anyone who loves good food can easily grasp. Truly good food is considered high art and people pay good money, wait long bookings, and travel long distances for the privilege and the experience. Sometimes, the anticipation of food worthy of being called art is so intense it reminiscent of a high ceremony. There’s almost a ritual-like atmosphere to the whole process. We can see abundant proof of this from the endless contributions of food bloggers from all over the world. Some of whom, thankfully, do no stop to take a picture of each of their artful meals—although many of us do appreciate a glimpse into the some truly unique and special places. The select images and descriptions of food that truly qualify as art are an eye-opening and educational online experiences that makes you want to turn into an actual, real life encounter. Impressively beautiful looking food that tastes just as heavenly is art. Better yet, turning a humble ingredient like egg into a variety of mouthwatering and beautiful dishes such as a silky egg-yolk gnocchi with fish roe at Ferran Adria’s El Bulli or bacon and eggs ice cream at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck. There’s no denying the connection. And as long as there are true food lovers and people who love to prepare artful feasts, food as art will not only continue, it will flourish.