The Journal
〰️
The Journal 〰️
Fall 2023 | Vol. 2 / Issue 3
Director’s Note
Eleven years ago, before I had established CDCP, the 2012 Carnegie International invited me to host an event as part of their Apartment Talks series. The event turned out to be the very first SIX x ATE, and this evening became the seed that sprouted the company into what it is today. SIX x ATE—an event that paired six artists with a local chef-catered dinner—grew into one of our core programs and has become an important part of our history. People might not think that food was such an integral part of CDCP’s inception, but the way food brings people together and builds community is something that I strive to achieve in the arts as well.
Contemporaneous to SIX x ATE, CDCP ran CSA PGH, a Community Supported Art share program. The model of CSA PGH stemmed from farm CSAs, but instead of getting a box of vegetables, you’d get a box of art from local makers. CSA PGH’s main mission was to make art feel more accessible and approachable to people. By packaging artwork that we’d selected together in a box, we were able to sell work at an affordable price and in a fun, approachable, and recognizable way.
Though SIX x ATE and CSA PGH wrapped in 2021, the ideas behind these series continue to carry through into our current projects. For this food-focused issue of The Journal, we’re pushing beyond the cheese and crackers you’d see at a gallery opening and examining moments when food and art intersect. Through food, I learned how art can be accessible in so many ways. Food itself helps bridge the gap between artwork and the public, whether it’s giving someone the fuel to stand and look at the art a little longer or food as visual content that anyone can understand. Chefs are artists creating within a specific medium, and—let’s get real—most of your servers are artists too, because they’re not making enough money selling their work. We hope you’ll enjoy this issue and consider joining us in a celebratory toast at the end… because we are officially into our second year as The Art Supply Co.
Thanks,
Casey
Gallery Snack Spreads: 101
Kaylani Brown shares examples of artists who solicit a lot of help when “making” their work.
THE FOOD ISSUE
A Feast For the Eyes
Hannah Turpin digs into artwork with food as the main ingredient.
A Seat at the Table
Anna Mirzayan brings pleasure to the table in her essay highlighting contemporary fat artists.
Store Bought is Fine
Candace Opper dishes advice on how to cater an art opening without breaking the bank.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Food for Thought
Hannah Turpin shares examples of artist whose work is about labor and labor practices.
The New Apéritif
Guest contributor Chenoa Baker thinks back on her work in arts labor advocacy and how we can all move forward.
Dinner’s Ready
Eriko Hattori interviews artist Latay Johnson, who just completed our Art Handler Apprenticeship.
Bad Fats
Eriko Hattori and Candace Opper reflect on a TASC project that celebrates the legacy of an insitituion’s labor.
Sprezzaturra Testimonial
Allison White reflects on the ways TASC helped them realize their vision for a project.
Food Network
Moby Richard reviews a piece of art with a foreboding presence.
Where’s Tara
Three arts workers weigh in on how to balance joy and work in this economy.
Food as a Recipe for Good Art
By Hannah Turpin
Here’s some food for thought: when your eyes are bigger than your stomach, don’t stop yourself. Just feast them upon some scrumptious visual works created by talented artists. Art is often pulled from everyday life and materials, and what could be more relatable to the everyday than food? A visual reference to food conjures a wide range of responses, from emotional to sensory to cultural. An image can evoke the ways food fuels our desires and satiates our cravings, serves as a foundation for our daily habits and social connections, and integrates with our individual and cultural discussions around beauty and pleasures.
Food also assertse itself through physical presentation, whether that’s a dazzling spread of dishes or the singular, organic form of one apple. An artist may present a forthcoming display of tasty fare to tease us into imagining ourselves at the table experiencing the tastes, smells, and feels; or they may disrupt our expected relationship with food by playing with these familiar objects, manipulating or appropriating them in new and unusual ways. Whatever the approach, TASC believes that the harmonious blend of art and food creates the potential for appreciation and wonder.
to whet your appetite, here are four such examples of artists living and working today who embrace the delicious appeal of food as subject matter for their work. Which artwork is the apple of your eye?
Meet Emma Honcharski
With our focus on food for the issue, we wanted to interview a member of the arts community who does work around food.
Naturally we thought of Emma Honcharski, who collaboratively publishes Dinner Bell Mag, a food magazine and multimedia project. Using the theme of food loosely, Dinner Bell Mag serves as a creative space for writers and artists to experiment with how they engage with food, acknowledging that stories about food are perhaps not about food at all. With each issue, they publish stories about food that exist outside of the traditional food writing framework.
Art is the New Apéritif
By Candace Oppar
It’s no surprise that having original art in a restaurant space enhances the gastronomic experience, as both art and food engage the senses and can complement each other in myriad ways.
Gallery Snack Spreads: 101
By Candace Opper
It is customary to offer gallery visitors an array of snacks and libations to consume as they peruse your art opening. This small effort on your part shows your patrons that you understand the fundamentals of hosting social gatherings, namely that people like to hold and chew things while they mingle and that those things must be free, bite-sized, and preferably accompanied by alcohol.
Here are three sample menus for an art opening at any budget, from volunteer-run to spared-no-expense.
Bad Fats
By Anna Mirzayan
Chewing, lapping, slurping…
Néstor Daniel Pérez Moliere’s 2019 video short, Self-Indulgence, features the artist—a fat, queer, non-white man—genuflecting to a piece of tres leches cake, bringing it to his mouth over and over in a hypnotic acting of eating. Part of a larger immersive video series titled The Body is Still Experiencing/Expecting Some (Dis)Comfort, this piece is a gentle attempt to reconcile desires that can often seem at odds; most notably in Self-Indulgence, the artist presents a struggle with the simultaneous desire for the queer fat body to become the idealized standard of beauty, while also wanting to deconstruct hegemonic notions of beauty and desireablility.
Rendering by August James McGinty, 8 years old
Introducing TASC's Art in the Wild Review, an opportunity for you to release your inner art critic while you're out in the world.
The Art in the Wild Review was inspired by the insipid (or surprisingly beautiful) examples of art you may see in everyday places.
Today’s review was submitted by Moby Richard.
Artwork Location: Coworking space
Medium: Mixed Media
How does this artwork make you feel?: sedated; I get a feeling of impending doom
Describe the artwork in three words: Dark, Stormy, Surprising
Your review of the artwork: “This piece is a strange antique painting/shadowbox that includes a model boat. Inside there is a dark, minimally painted scene with the model sail boats (there are two!) taking center stage. Someone has also propped up what looks like a salt shaker/lighthouse in the corner. They were perhaps a more talented model boat maker than painter-however I will say the framing and hanging of the piece allow you to take it in as an image first and then find a moment of delight as you realize it’s 3D. I tip my hat to the maker of this slightly foreboding mise en scène, may they rest in peace on less stormy waters.
TASC asks:
How does art impact your relationship with food, particularly within the context of a dining or restaurant experience?
“As someone that has served dinners from farm fields to rooftops, I believe the food is only a component of what makes the dining experience a memorable one. Allure is everywhere in a dining space—as soon as guests walk in the door, the mood, music, and art prepare them for the culinary wizardry. A great piece of art in a restaurant can be THE conversation starter for a bright first date or awkward family gathering. For a chef, these conversations help wet the whistle, relax the guests and achieve the experience you want at the table".”
Kate Romane, chef / Top Doggo, Black Radish Kitchen
“For me art is about communicating. At ShadoBeni, you are surrounded by color—color on the walls and in the food to recreate a feeling of being in the Caribbean. No matter what I cook I always try to make it visually pleasing and tasty. Being vegan i am always creating dishes inspired by popular Trinidadian cuisine because most of the local dishes include meat. Sometimes it’s challenging but seeing the restaurant full and people enjoying themselves is always nice. When running a restaurant, the sound, color, taste, and smell matters. Find the right balance and that’s art.”
Ulric Joseph, Chef, ShadoBeni Trinidadian Restaurant
We reached out to three members of the food community and grilled them about art. How does art connect to food from their perspective? How has art helped shape their relationship with the culinary world? Dig into these responses to gain some insight.
“The shape, color, and texture of a ceramic dish can truly alter the taste of a meal. Was it a dish that was handmade? Do the colors of the vegetables contrast with the glaze of the bowl? I love the art of setting a table in an artful way to give my guests a multi-sensory experience. When I’m gathering friends and loved ones in my home, I want the light, colors, and feeling of the table to be warm and inviting. For me, the little touches of color in a room or on a table really make a difference when it comes to creating a great dining experience.”
Tirzah DeCaria, Director of Creative Citizen Studios and founding member of the team that brought Soup N’at to Pittsburgh from 2011-2019
“Sprezzatura has worked closely with TASC and CDCP to debunk the myth of the starving artist. We’re always happy to collaborate with them to welcome artists and creators to the city of Pittsburgh. Our team nourishes the body with sustainable, local foods, while TASC and CDCP nourish the soul with works of art and creative practices.”
Jen Saffron (owner) & the Sprezzatura Team