Often, the creation of food is distinguished from ‘true art’ due to its perceived ubiquity, yet to me, it is this very fact that elevates it into the realm of art. While perhaps not a traditional artistic form, the creation of food, specifically food made for sharing, follows a similar cultural purpose – its position as a global necessity allows it to permeate communities, developing ideas of cultural identity. Just as photographer Henry Hargreaves aspires to, “present [food] in different ways that give people a bigger and better understanding of things through food” [1], so too do chefs endeavour to infuse their dishes with individual and cultural knowledge. In tasting a dish, we develop a rich understanding of where it came from, not only in a physical sense, but also a cultural one – just as we analyse and understand paintings.
While ideas of food as an artistic medium may at first conjure images of fine dining restaurants with intricately plated dishes, to me, it can also refer to the simplest of meals. The creation and sharing of food is an art in itself, whose primary role is not visual appeal but emotional resonance. Thus, our adherence to artistic exclusivity inevitably limits the creative and innovative abilities of people as a whole. Whether good or bad, food elicits that deep emotional response we associate with art – it both unites and divides through the complexity of its flavour and the diversity of its forms.
[1] Hargreaves H., 2017, Playing with Food, In Johnson E. (Ed.), Kai and Culture: Food stories from Aotearoa, (pp. 72-73), Christchurch, New Zealand: Freerange Press
I really like how you highlighted that food is an emotional experience rather than a visual one. Building on this, I think why people don’t recognise food as art is because of its impermanent nature. Because food is food, only a few people get to eat each meal, even if it is recreated it will never taste exactly the same.
This is why visual art is hailed as art and food is unfortunately not. Visual art allows for anyone to see it and experience it, so reaching a larger audience of art enthusiasts. Food can only be experienced by one person, while food critics try to capture this experience and deliver it to the masses, they can never do it justice. I believe that art can be experienced individually, but I think that art, that can only be experienced by a few will unfortunately never be appreciated as art by the many.