ART AND A GOOD MEAL

It is often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I was younger, I didn’t quite know what that meant. Over the years I’ve seen such an explosion of art and art forms of every description that I came to understand that beauty has no limits, and I don’t limit myself to just the beauty of art. I get just as much pleasure from a beautiful meal; its visual appeal as well as its taste. The intricacies and layers of a good meal, a fine wine or a palate pleasing desert can also satisfy the soul. Food or dinning has often been the focus of art, and we have all struggled over a still-life of a bowl of fruit at some point in our artistic lives. We wanted the shapes to be just right and look “real”; training for the more diverse avenues we would take later in the world of art.

When I visited Florence, Italy, the wine tasted so much better than any bottle from my local store. Was there really a difference or was it the surroundings: the cathedral of 7 colors of marble, the stone statuary, stain glass windows and paintings? Art influences us much more than we realize, even adding to the enjoyment of a meal. The excitement of viewing the pyramids added just the right amount of spice to the evening’s conversation at the diner table; food and art, art and food. The gathering of chiefs in Ghana was quite spectacular; full of color and carvings, gold and multihued fabrics, and recognition of similar faces like those back home, but even more exciting was to share these sights and sounds around our evening meal. When I make wine, I want to serve it beautifully. It is not only a statement of my skill but also my creativity, food becomes art and art is becoming to food. We who make art, live to create. It is not a choice, it is who we are.

Daniel T. Brooking (July 2006)