The Getty Museum Transforms Food into a Piece of Art

Food turned art? The representation of food has expanded itself to become useful in more ways than one. A recent exhibition at the Getty Museum brings food away from its normal role of simply filling that hunger void in our stomachs and transformed it into a collection of art. The exhibition, called “In Focus: Tasteful Pictures,” features a wide expansion of works of art dating back more than 150 years to the mid-19^th century into the present day.

These photos aren’t just pictures that show food, they are an expression of art within an experimental medium. For example, the photograph titled “Peas in a Pod,” made by American photographer Edward W. Quigley, brings the concept of food out of the subject matter and reveals the object’s form and artistic value. A sense of grace and shape take on the image rather than an appetizing illusion. Who knew peas in a pod could represent elegance?

What makes these photographs even more spectacular is that not a single one of them originated from a digital camera. Virginia Heckert, associate curator in the museum’s photography department and curator of the exhibit, told the LA Times that the intention of the exhibit is to represent images that illuminate the history of photography and express the artist’s technical talent within art. Artists take everyday food objects like bananas and chocolate bars and eliminate their contextual representation by generating a focus that centers more on the cropped edges, darkened shadows and distorted abstractions. A slight tilt of that banana can make all the difference to make or break a photo.

Amongst the artists whose work is featured throughout the exhibition include Man Ray, Weegee, Edwawrd Weston and Roger Fenton.

Source LA Times