Tales of a recipe : an artistic inquiry on how cuisine becomes art

Abstract

This study inquires on the question: how can cuisine be part of the contemporary art scene? The thesis starts by framing the concepts of art and aesthetics, then introduces theoretical proposals on relations between cuisine and art. A vision on food representation throughout the centuries provides a background for the presentation of the culinary photography discipline. The study consequently dives into the idea of conceptual cuisine, by introducing and discussing the work of selected contemporary artist-chefs. I furthermore aim to demonstrate how culinary photography can be transformed into artistic photography.

The field research is conducted in the region of Pirkanmaa, Finland, with the collaboration of local raw materials producers. Visual documentation of the field work supports the artistic response, which consists in a food-based art book proposal titled Tales of a recipe. Volume I: Pirkanmaa, Suomi-Finland. This artistic research explores how Finnish raw materials can be transformed and photographically portrayed. Consequently, the research suggests that this act of transformation, starting from choosing the ingredients, can be expression and therefore considered artistic practice.