Art and Cook: Love Food, Live Design, Dream Art
- Book Review,
by Emmanuel Paletz, Allan Ben
Book Description
Have you ever seen a cookbook that mixes controversy into its recipes? Have you ever come across a book that combines gourmet dishes, artwork, and political and social commentary? Have you ever experienced a book, beginning with the suggestive and unique packaging it comes in, that contains cutting-edge creative, and provocative contents that simultaneously stimulate, insatiate and exacerbate? Can a single book raise questions, stir emotions, and make you thirst for food and knowledge? Art and Cook may just be this generations breakthrough book and its aptly labeled by its creators as being the leader of the Revolutionary Movement.
About the Author
ALLAN BEN, author and driving conceptual force behind "Art and Cook," has been described by the magazine, "Studio Photography & Design" as "an artist and a businessman, just as concerned with creating an effective piece, as his is with doing his work, in a way that makes objects emotional." EMMANUEL PALETZ, art director for "Art and Cook," is an award-winning artist whose work was presented at the Opening Ceremony of the "New Talent Pavilion" at the Milia '98 International Interactive Media Exhibition in Cannes, France. His work has been published in the prestigious book "WWW Flash: The Best Designs from Around the World."
Excerpted from Art and Cook: Love Food, Live Design, Dream Art by Allan Ben, Emmanuel Paletz. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION: "Art and Cook" is a comprehensive volume produced, conceptualized and designed by Allan Ben Studio that blends together Surrealism and Dadaism to create original works of art with universal appeal. The publication also draws from Pop and Commercial Art in its quest to explore bold directions, unconventional ideas and a fresh, new perspective. The Dada Movement, introduced at the end of the First World War, in opposition to the war, created art that reflected the ugliness of conflict – the anti-art. Other forms of art in the 20th century were impacted by the Dada Movement, among them Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Conceptual Art and Pop Art. While Dadaism is devoid of guidelines and structure (as is the case with the title, used in a manner that is grammatically incorrect to summon forth feelings of shock and consternation), Surrealism draws heavily on theories adapted from Sigmund Freud: It fuses together "conscious and conscious realms of experience so completely, joining the everyday rational world in an absolute reality, a surreality." The creative expressions within the confines of this book (that provide a delicate balance between food and art), like Surrealism and Dadaism, are indicative of a desire to draw from reality, fantasy and personal emotions to create images real or imagined – all intended to stimulate the senses and nourish the mind. The recipes in this volume are influenced by food from around the Mediterranean and Asia, Continental American Cuisine and Classic French Cuisine. Food, like art, is a representation of beauty and, when expertly presented, a masterpiece in its own right. The multifaceted, universal nature of the recipes is manifested in the titles, one such being "Grilled Chicken Skewers over Grilled Zucchini in Curry Vinaigrette and Crispy Noodles." What one gets from one taste, one look, is universality: a blending together of different flavors and spices, in very much the same way an artist mixes colors in search of depth, meaning and tones to convey meaning and evoke a particular response. Unparalleled creativity is the hallmark of "Art and Cook," as the art and recipes in this volume exemplify: an exploration into uncharted territory in pursuance of the extraordinary. The artwork "Mona Lisa with Moustache," is given a new spin by the artist, who, in a paradoxical twist, replaces the moustache with two red peppers – the color red connoting emotion, in this case, anger. From the Book "Man Ray – Masters of Photography Series" by Jed Perl, a photo revealing the close-up of a woman in tears is reassembled. Droplets of water are substituted with green lentils in a gesture of symbolism (rounded lentils, a metaphor for salty teardrops). Above all, the images in "Art and Cook," some haunting in their intensity, raise one’s level of consciousness about social, political and moral issues such as world conflict, environmental concerns, animal cruelty and medical and technological advances. The visuals tell a story and, oftentimes, court controversy (see art references). The book is for those who appreciate all that life has to offer. It’s an invitation for the reader to reflect, learn, think, laugh and view the world through different lenses.
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