Cooking & conceptual art go hand in hand. More than just being a necessary sustenance, eating is a sensory pastime that draws parallels with the experiential nature of art-making – both creative and reactive, they are aligned in more ways than one. In light of this, Studio Cooking is serving up a week-long series of events that ask, ‘how do artists feed themselves while they are working?’.
Opening yesterday, the project kicked off with ‘a dissipated body’ — a performance sculpture by Páll Haukur. The brainchild of LA-based artists Arden Surdam and Meghan Gordon, Studio Cooking is part of the Women’s Center for Creative Work’s ‘Parlor at the Armory’ Residency and promises to transform the venue’s gallery into a makeshift kitchen – one built from the generosity and donated utensils of local artists.
Bringing together guests and performers alike, over ‘mini fridges, toaster ovens, hot plates, coffee makers, rice cookers, blenders and microwaves’, the audience will eat from Orr Herz’s handcrafted ceramic catch-all bowls while enjoying food-related performances, informal discussions and the unique opportunity to experience creatives such as Amanda Katz donning an apron and dishing up daily servings.
Mirroring the ephemeral performances conducted by Rirkrit Tiravanija nearly a decade earlier, the project will look at the role of the kitchen in a social context, touching on the wider implications of shared meals such as intimacy, community, labour, gender and wellness. By creating a platform on which viewers can interact with art in a social context – both with art and themselves — Studio Cooking acts like social glue, translating food to thought and giving in to sharing.
Studio Cooking runs until 15 November at Armoury Center for the Arts, California
