“Tastes and Symbols of Time” is a collaboration between students of BHSAD and students of Novikov School of cooking. Artists and chefs will create 20 objects of art at the intersection of contemporary art and gastronomy.
The aim of the project is to interpret food as a symbol of time by using the means of modern cooking art and contemporary art: why today we aren’t eating what we used to eat 50 years ago, why something becomes a popular restaurant trend, why eating habits in family and society change, how packing and production of foodstuffs end up being characterized by industrial anonymity and then step back to craft formats.
During one month, the participants of the experiment will learn about the role that the cuisine has been playing in artistic process for centuries, when cooking started to be considered a form of art, and whether it is still true today: do chefs use artistic composition tricks in their masterpieces, does color affect taste, what do these fields have in common, and a lot more.
#bhsadXnovikovschool hashtag will help you follow successes (and failures) of the participants of the experiment and the complexities of an artistic quest on Instagram* and Facebook. Mikhail Levin and Anna Mokhova will be curators of the project from the BHSAD, while their counterparts from Novikov School will be Katerina Drozdova and Arthur Ovchinnikov. Best projects produced during the experiments will be shown at a designated exhibition.
The jury of the contest includes a famous Russian chef Ivan Berezutsky (Twins Garden), Alexander Sysoyev (Alisha Restaurants, Russian Restaurant Festival), Katerina Drozdova (Novikov School), Mikhail Levin (BHSAD), Arthur Ovchinnikov (Novikov School).
“Behind the coil of contemporary art there is always a challenge aimed at the society and the values of the epoch. In contemporary art, many authors work on the intersection of artistic and other fields in search of new strategies and ways to express them, and eventually - a search of their unique artistic language. Therefore we offered the students to try and reflect on the phenomena, events and facts that refer to certain symbols and tastes, and to overcome the boundaries of conventional artistic means with the help of gastronomy”, said Mikhail Levin, artist, leading tutor of Modern Art programme and head of the project from the part of BHSAD.
“Being a gastronomy school, we understand that food isn’t just about slicing and roasting, it is an important part of our lives at so many levels. This is exactly what we teach our students - treating food as a part of life, part of history, part of self-identity and a symbol of time. Moreover, food offers limitless opportunities for creating objects of art in terms of texture, appearances, color and many other features. Therefore we joined BHSAD and set up a contest that will demonstrate what people who will shape gastronomy and art of tomorrow consider trendy today,” commented Katerina Drozdova, partner of Novikov School.
Ivan Berezutsky: “I am excited by the project because contemporary art and gastronomy are a perfect match, because gastronomy is art. The art that you don’t just contemplate - you can experience it with all your five senses. However, a meal on a plate is a masterpiece that lives but 30 seconds. And all you have are those few moments to impress your guest. Usually I perceive this alliance from the gastronomy perspective, and it would be interesting to take a look at it from the other side.
