[-empyre-] Art Tech Food: Week 4

Thu Mar 31 07:57:35 AEDT 2016

Hi all,

Thanks Amanda for inviting me to participate in this critical discussion on
Food and Art. I was already following works of few of the participating
artists, and I am happy to get introduced to the rest through this
platform. I have been following the discussion all throughout and feel
enriched to know the various concerns that are being addressed through food.

Food has bee one of the oldest platform of exchange. Our dependence on food
is something that connects us all over the world. At the same time,
different ways of cooking and preparations to eat is also something that
sets us apart. But over the years there has been a tremendous change in the
way we understand, grow, eat and share food. In such a scenario, how does
one connects her/himself with their cultural identity, of which food is one
of the integral parts.
Coming from from India, I had often seen food as one of the important
factors during community gatherings. There are particular rituals to be
followed for specific food preparations for certain occasions. This is how
we get out memories of food. Now that I am independent and cook for myself,
I often find cooking, family recipes  in accordance to what I am
missing/feeling at that moment.
Food does express itself through several memories from the past and keeps
building new ones. I was interested in this aspect of food where it does
talk about nutrition, agriculture, sociology and anthropology, but also
talk about everyday emotions, feelings and desires and introspect about
human behavior.

I have been doing food performances for some years now, and use it as a
tool to bring people together and create a situation where they are free to
express themselves. The interaction of the viewers with the work is very
important to my process and incorporating language was obvious. As a child,
I have fond memories of casting different forms and shapes with mango pulp
in the Summer holidays. Most of these forms were made using kitchen
utensils like spoons, bowls and glasses. Once dried we all were asked to
pick one form and we could eat it. The idea of edible cutlery was so
exciting for me that it gave way to several of my food performances. The
first work Sugarcoated (Morals)
<http://shilparangnekar.com/portfolio/jalebi/> was my 1st community art
experience, and what I observed was that when the food and language are
used together it connects with people at various levels. Different people
react in different ways and all of it becomes a part of the work. The
introspective nature of the work allows the viewers to engage and then
interact with others to share their experience.

Briefing about my artistic practice cannot be completed without introducing
you all about Sandarbh <http://sandarbh.org/>, currently situated in
Partapur, a small town in Southern Rajasthan. Initiated in 2003, Sandarbh
is an artists' initiative that presents new creative contexts for both
local communities and contemporary artists to experience art in new ways.
Through residencies and workshops we have coordinated several interactive
projects that have been evolved through the indigenous needs. While
curating Equilibrium <https://theprojectequilibrium.wordpress.com/>, a
beautiful project Pehli Wakhat
<https://theprojectequilibrium.wordpress.com/works/meherun-sumi-akhter/>was
done by Meherun Akhter (Bangladesh) in collaboration with women members of
self-help groups from Semaliya village. The project talks about the first
attempt at sharing culture, friendship, experiences and memories through
food.

More about some very interesting food projects from India, and my upcoming
project with Sandarbh in my next mail.

- Shilpa

On Tue, Mar 29, 2016 at 1:35 AM, Amanda McDonald Crowley <
amandamcdc at gmail.com> wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> Hello again!!
>
> So I know I am a bit late off the mark to introduce our final two
> discussants. The cat is doing well, for anyone interested. And thanks for
> the off list suggestions about diet -- you know who you are ;)
>
> Yesterday I ruminated a little about art-as-life, or life-as-art and how
> artists who (among other things) address issues of food systems in their
> practice, in a sense directly affected by their lived experience.
>
> I am also still deeply interested in ideas of collaboration and more
> specifically cross disciplinary practice in this field of inquiry.
>
> In our final week, I am delighted to introduce Natalie Jeremijenko and
> Shilpa Rangnekar, two conceptual artists who have a long history of working
> with food. We have heard from several artists who prepare and serve food as
> part of their practice, as a methodology for engaging audiences directly in
> a larger discussion. I hope that Natalie and Shilpa might build on that
> conversation in a discussion of some of their projects where they literally
> invite their audiences to consume their art, as acts of environmental
> inquiry, generosity, and sharing in ways that only food can do!
>
> Marina Zurkow and Stefani Bardin, in week one, began a discussion of their
> NYC food mapping project. In this final week, I hope they might also share
> more information on some of their own art projects that address our food
> systems (that they didn't have the bandwidth to share during week one, due
> to other commitments).
>
> And of course, I hope that any of our other discussants, as well as any of
> you on the list who wish to follow up on any conversations you would like
> to have more feedback on, or on which you would like to add commentary, or
> other writing or work that you would like to draw to our attention, might
> also pipe in.
>
> As a reminder, I am re:pasting Natalie and Shipa's bios below.
>
> best
>
> Amanda
>
> __SNIP__
>
> Natalie Jereminjenko (AUS, US) is an Associate Professor in the Visual Art
> Department, NYU <
> http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/Natalie_Jeremijenko> and
> affiliated with the Computer Science Dept. and Environmental Studies
> program. In 2014 VIDA Art and Artificial Life International Awards Pioneer
> Prize was awarded to Natalie Jeremijenko “for her consistently brilliant
> portfolio of work over the past two decades.”  (a prize only awarded once
> before to Laurie Anderson). She was also granted Most Innovative People
> award in 2013, most influential women in technology 2011 <
> http://www.fastcompany.com/women-in-tech/2011/brainiacs/natalie-jeremijenko>,
> one of the inaugural top young innovators by MIT Technology Review and 40
> most influential designers Jeremijenko directs the Environmental Health
> Clinic <http://environmentalhealthclinic.net/farmacy/>—facilitating
> public and lifestyle experiments that can aggregate into significant human
> and environmental health benefits.
>
> Shilpa Rangnekar (IN) is an Indian conceptual artist working with a
> multidisciplinary approach for socially engaged art and research practices.
> She is particularly interested in observations of everyday life and
> associated behaviors, which either comes out in the form of utilitarian
> Art, food performances or very expressive and engaging community oriented
> projects. She has post graduated from Hyderabad Central University in 2008
> with MVA in Painting and holds a BFA in Painting from M.S.U, Baroda (2005).
> Since 2010, Shilpa has been working as a coordinating artist for Sandarbh
> Artist Residency- a context for experimenting with artistic processes, and
> exploring new modalities of viewership and public participation in art.
> Arts Network Asia, the Asia Europe Foundation and Trans Europe Halles
> generously supported one of her recent project Equilibrium. She has
> participated in residency programs in Germany, South Korea, and India and
> recently at the Bemis Center for Contemporary arts in USA. Rangnekar lives
> and works in Jaipur, India.
> http://shilparangnekar.com
> http://theprojectequilibrium.wordpress.com
>
>
> --
> Amanda McDonald Crowley
> Cultural Worker / Curator
> http://publicartaction.net
>
> @amandamcdc
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>

-- 
shilparangnekar.com

Coordinating artist
Sandarbh
www.sandarbh.org
theprojectequilibrium.wordpress.com

My new number is
+91 7568-456201
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