Kansas State University

This blog is written by Artist Sean Starowitz, who will be exhibiting his work during the Open A.I.R. 2015: D-LAB The Center for Food Perception and Aesthetics. Sean’s residency will be April 15-17, 2015. All programming during the residency will take place at the Beach Museum of Art in the Vanier Gallery and the UMB Theater. For more information about the residency please visit the Beach Museum of Art website.

The DLab’s Center for Food Perception and Aesthetics explores food not just at the dinner table or through the art historical lens of still lifes, but through the ecology of labor, soil, consumption, convenience, marketing and history. Food has the ability to carry more value than just its nutritionals. It naturally evokes community, heritage, identity, and memory.

Over the course of Open AIR, Artist In Residence, the project aims to explore and gather new research, understanding, and challenge the ways we perceive and experience food.  We will be collaborating with several departments of Kansas State University as well as members of the Manhattan community, The Land Institute, and Radina’s Bakery.

“You are what you eat” has become a familiar concept, but it is far more complex than that. The quality of food becomes the quality of mind. How the food industry sells food is almost as important as how it tastes. Marketing focuses on “cradle-to-grave” strategies that reveal the influence of nostalgia and memory. Our cities are designed to be fast and efficient, not much different than a drive thru restaurant. Food is politics too, from labor and gender discrimination, odd FDA regulations, the growing Stand Up and Strike Fast Food movements, and civic policies that affect urban agriculture.

Food is also generational; we carry traditions through our families. The Recipe Exchange and Living Archive collects regional and cultural identity through hand written recipes. Individual are welcome to submit their recipes in exchange for others.

Public events:

All programs take place at the Beach Museum of Art and are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

• Open Cookbook: recipe Exchange and Archive
• April 15-17, 2015, during museum open hours
  • In the Center throughout residency people are encouraged to take and leave 4×6 recipe cards.
• Drop-in Discussion: The Convenience of Uniformity
• Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 10:00 am – noon
  • Join the conversation about the convenience of uniformity; looking at forced serving size in the context of coffee, bread, other beverages and foods (12 oz, 16 oz, 24 oz).
• Drop-in Discussion: Platforms for Food Sustainability 
• Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
  • Join the conversation about the platforms for food sustainability; thinking about access and the future of real food.
• Drive Thru Nation
• Thursday, April 16, 2015 10:00-noon
  • Join Sean for an interactive workshop and presentation on car culture and food.
  • Sean Starowitz will be joined by current graduate students in landscape architecture.
• Roundtable Discussion: The Art of Fermentation
• Thursday, April 16, 2015, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
  • Join the artist for a roundtable discussion about The Art of Fermentation. Roundtable topics include beer brewing, sourdough and yeast bread making, and cheese making.
• Artist talk by Sean Starowitz
• Thursday, April 16, 6:00 pm
  • Artist talk by Sean Starowitz in the UMB Theatre, followed by a reception.
• Interpretive performance by Jui Mhatre
• Thursday, April 16, 7:00 pm
  • “Happy Meals” an interpretive performance by Jui Mhatre.
• Informal Roundtable Discussion
• Friday, April 17, 2015, 3:00 to 4:00 pm
  • Stop in for an Informal Roundtable Discussion with leaders from the Rural Grocery Program, the Global Food Initiative, and the Land Institute.