1. Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Vertumnus. 1590-1591. Oil
on wood. Skoklosters Slott, Balsta, Sweden

2. Food, Art and Culture
• What is art?
• What is special about food as art?
• Comparing food & other forms of art.

3. What is art?
• Forms of art – music, literature,
paintings, sculptures, movie, …
• Why do we participate in artistic
activities?

4. Simple definition
• A piece of art is an object that gives
us pleasure.

5. Objections
• Many things produce pleasure but do
not constitute art.
• Many pieces of art do not produce
pleasure.
A = P

6. ~A & P

7. A & ~P
Marcel Duchamp
Fountain 1917.
Damien Hirst A Thousand Years

8. Modification
• A piece of art is an object that is
DESIGNED to produce AESTHETIC
pleasure.

9. What is aesthetic pleasure?
• Positive aesthetic judgment.
• Better not define it in terms of art
(otherwise a circular definition).
• To be continued …

10. Food as art

11. Food as an artform
• Can food constitute a unique form of
art, other than being a painting,
sculpture, etc?
• What is distinctive – taste (with sight
and smell)

12. Depth in art
• A piece of artwork has depth.
• Possessing structure & order that
allows contemplation and analysis.

13. El Bulli’s chef - Ferran Adrià
TIME 2004 Top 100
http://www.time.com/time/2004/time100/

14. Innovative dishes
• Pea and mint soup
• Carrot air
• More information
– http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=57174
– http://www.egullet.org/index.cgi?pg=ARTICLE-27courses
– http://www.doylerogers.com/el_bulli_menu.htm
• Features
– New combination of flavors, textures …
– Intellectual surprises

15. Trends in haute cuisine
• Post-modernism
– Bacon and egg ice cream at the Fat Duck
– Sadaharu Aoki’s green tea eclair
• But informed by
• Science
– http://www.fatduck.co.uk/low_temperature_cooking.html
– http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/anglais/cdmodernite.htm
• International influences
– http://www.robuchon.com/

16. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Tokyo

17. Famous artwork

18. Questions
• Can food be great art?
• Why or why not?