Get a “taste” of the following
food artists!
The ways in which artists use food as a subject for their work.
Artist/Illustrator: Saxton Freymann
Author: Joost Elffers
Sandy Skoglund
The
Cocktail
Party
1992
What
kind of
ritual is
going
on in
this
work?
What is a RITUAL? a prescribed code of behavior
regulating social conduct, for example, the raising of one's hat or
the shaking of hands in greeting.
Skoglund, center, watches as Chris
Gomien, left, and Mark Patsfall
install "The Cocktail Party".
• "Eating, in human
society, is a ritual," Ms.
Skoglund says. "The
"Cocktail Party' has got this
artificial seemingly
unnatural, color. The
Cheese Doodles seem to
be alive, like worms or
caterpillars. Then you have
the cocktail party, which
is all about ritualistic
behavior.
• "We think about rituals in
other societies, but we don't
think of our own rituals.
The thing about rituals is
that they are invisible to
the participant."
Raining
Popcorn
2001
Careful preparation
• Ms. Skoglund, 52, builds her installations in
her New York studio, carefully sculpting the
animals, arranging them in the setting,
composing it for a camera.
• Models are hired to pose for the photographs,
but the settings survive without live models
for installation in galleries and museums.
• So it's sculpture, installation, photography
and often performance, when the artist
walks through the bathroom, crushing the
eggshells under her feet.
Claes Oldenburg
Does this look familiar?
• Artist Claes
Oldenburg
created the
28-ft tall, 48ft long steel
office stamp
in 1985.
Claes Oldenburg’s
Soft Sculpture
• "The main reason for
making a soft version of a
known hard object may be
(I think more and more it is)
to dramatize or isolate the
condition of softness. And
other conditions such as the
response to "gravity"--this
condition under which
objects appear to exist, and
we as objects, as matter,
appear to exist."
Gallery photograph
Giant BLT (Bacon, Lettuce
and Tomato Sandwich), 1963.
• Vinyl filed with
kapok, and wood
painted with acrylic,
32 x 39 x 29 inches
Soft Fur Good Humors, 1963.
• Fake fur filled
with kapok;
wood painted
with enamel
4 units, each 2 x
9-1/2 x 19
inches
• Since 1962, Oldenburg has been making soft
sculpture based on common objects ranging
from household fixtures (such as toilets, fans,
and light switches) to foodstuffs and Manhattan
maps. His later soft sculptures are sewn from
vinyl or canvas and are stuffed with filler
material to achieve varying degrees of
flaccidity, his method of "modeling."
What does “modeling” in the art mean?
The treatment of volume, as the turning of a form, in sculpture.
Pastry Case, I. 1961-62.
• Painted plaster sculptures on ceramic plates, metal
platter and cups in glass-and-metal case, 20 3/4 x 30 1/8
x 14 3/4"
Two Cheeseburgers, with Everything.
1962.
What is the “everything?”
• Burlap
soaked in
plaster,
painted
with
enamel,
7 x 14
3/4 x 8
5/8"
Floor Burger, 1962.
• painted sail cloth and
foam rubber
• Oldenburg blows up
simple items to gigantic
scale and reproduces
them in odd materials.
He did "soft" toilets
sculptures in white
vinyl, a 45 foot tall
clothespin in Cor-Ten
steel, and many others
as you will see.
Floor Cake. 1962.
• Synthetic
polymer paint
and latex on
canvas filled
with foam
rubber and
cardboard
boxes, 58 3/8"
x 9' 6 1/4" x 58
3/8"
Floor Cone. 1962.
• Synthetic polymer paint on canvas filled with
foam rubber and cardboard boxes, 53 3/4" x 11'
4" x 56"
7-UP, 1961
• Enamel on
plaster-soaked
cloth on wire
55 x 39 1/4 x 5
1/2 in.
Wayne Thiebaud (painter)
What did the artist do to make
these foods look realistic?
• TEXTURE
• reflection
• Shading
• detail
Creating a large food sculpture
from clay
Things to consider :
~TEXTURE of the pieces of food
~the COLOR of the food
~what would it be SERVED IN or on (plate, platter,
bowl etc)
~any SIDE DISHES that would go with the main food
~remember to think of ALL the SMALL DETAILS
(ex. Seeds on a bun)
Ceramic terminology:
Slip
• Slip is liquid clay. You want it to be about the consistency of
thick cream. Used as a “glue” for holding clay pieces together.
Score and Slip
• Score and slip refers to a method of joining two pieces of clay
together. First, score the clay; this means that you make
scratches in the surfaces that will be sticking together. Then
you slip it; that is you wet the surface with some slip, using it
like glue. Next, you press the two pieces together. It is very
important to always score and slip clay. If you do not, the
pieces will likely pop apart when they are fired.
Wedging
• Pushes the air out of the clay so your artwork will not explode
in the kiln.
Firing
• This is the process of heating the pottery to a specific
temperature in order to harden it. I will fire your pieces
BEFORE we paint them the last two weeks.
Calendar:
• Today: Intro
• Tomorrow: PICS DUE. Quick demo, probably begin
building food.
• Thurs: 9-10 days to build your two dishes (so NO LATER
than Wed. March 4th) If we can get done a bit earlier
that will give you more time on your last project, the
tattoo project, as well as on painting your food items,
which all takes a bit of time.
NEXT PROJECT…
• During this project you will also be taking one
class period to “cast” for our last project. Casting
is going to be done with a rubber mold, a hand
or foot, and plaster you will mix. When it is your
day to cast I will have your name on the board,
so you know NOT to get your clay items out for
the day. Everyday 4 people will cast until
everyone has done so.