Saturday, July 25, 2009

Is this art?


In honor of comedian Bill Cosby's birthday this month, a local artist created this portrait from approximately 1,000 Jello shots. It seemed like an appropriate medium to artist Andrew Salomone, given Cosby's years as a pitchman for the colorful jiggly stuff.

Apparently the exhibit didn't last too long -- some of the art patrons decided to rearrange the shots to see how Cosby would look with a ponytail or as a Pac-Man. And then they ate the Jello out of the small cups.

So, if people can make art disappear by eating or drinking it, is it truly art?

A couple of weeks ago, a group in Sydney, Australia, arranged 3,404 coffee cups filled with different amounts of milk to create the shades of color necessary to create this giant Mona Lisa. I'm not sure if anyone drank the milk later, but again, I have to ask, is this art?

I'd also like to know what prompts people to look at something like jello shots or coffee cups and think, "Hey, I could use that to create a portrait." I'm familiar with folks thinking they see Jesus and the Virgin Mary ON food, such as tortillas and waffles, which I usually credit to active imagination or divine inspiration. But where does the inspiration come from to use things that HOLD food (and drink) to create Bill Cosby's head or the Mona Lisa?

My coffee cup may be a lot of things to me -- especially first thing in the morning -- but I've never considered it an artistic medium nor have I ever groggily peered into it and thought: "Mona Lisa." Ditto for my oatmeal bowl. Does that mean I lack imagination and/or vision?
Maybe I should go stare at my Tupperware collection for a while to see what it inspires....
How about you? Seen any food containers around your house that could become great art?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a mixed medium artist I often see art where others see "junk" but I do agree in general that disposable comestible ingestibles is questionable. Remember, art is in the eye of the beholder!

Unknown said...

I wonder if food art falls into the same category as other transitory art forms - temporary installations, ice sculptures or the lovely sand paintings that the buddhist monks do.... it doesn't seem as "serious" somehow, but I wonder what marks the borderline of "real" art.....

Rosemary Harris said...

This is so cool. But how do these artists answer when asked what medium they work in? Pudding? Dairy?

ALittleGuitar said...

i, too, believe art is in the eye of the beholder, just as beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.