spc

yummie?
a study of German food aesthetics

series of digital photo collages, inkjet prints on matte paper, 75 x 75 cm, 2008

Food is much more than an essential for life; the way of preparing and arranging it is a mirror of time, life style and society. The work studies the presentation of food in German cooking books and magazines from the sixties until today. The individual collages assemble represenations of salads, meat dishes, potato dishes, pudding desserts, and cakes respectively. The arrangement of motifs within each collage is roughly chronological from the upper left to lower right corner.



The actual comparison of how specific meal groups are displayed over time reveals the change of what is considered to be appetizing and tasty. What used to be inspiring for housewifes and gourmets in an earlier period is often perceived as irritating or unsavoury today.


[click on motifs to enlarge; image on bottom right: exhibition view J-POP/G-POP, Contemporary Art Space Osaka, Japan, 2008]

Beyond any rational analysis, pictures of food always attract our interest in a certain, sensual way, independent of the time or cultural context of their publication.

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