Our Daily Bread - Play With Food lV
When people start playing with food no ingredient is overlooked as too humble or plain, and artists across the world seem to find bread as the perfect medium for exploring the human form.
(101 Ways to Play With Your Food, ideas #41 to 49)
Of course bakers have been shaping decorative breads for centuries, and I’m pretty sure every American kid has made dough ornaments at one point or another…but when famous fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier comes along and decides he’s going to fulfill a life long wish of running a bakery nothing short of stunning artwork is created.
The exhibit was displayed at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris and included a number of dress and mannequin designs using bread and wicker, plus a variety of bready fashion accoutrements. The creations were produced under the direction of Gauliter by l’Equipe de France de Boulangerie.
Chocolate & Zuchinni, one of my favorite French food bloggers, was able to attend the event and posted a great review; including her taste test of a few exclusive Gauliter breads sold during the show.
It’s enough to make fashionistas and foodies fall sobbing into each others arms. Not everyone worries about clothes though…they’d rather knead a few body parts, giving new meaning to “our daily bread”.
British artist Sharon Baker’s latest creation is a life sized bread sculpture of herself. She even invited the London Dockyard’s audience to tuck in and have a taste.
Sharon isn’t the only artist creating life size bread bodies…Constanza Puenta also made a model of herself, and Thai art student Kittiwat Unarrom uses his family’s bakery to create frighteningly realistic body forms strung up slaughterhouse style. Kittiwat’s collection was displayed as his final art dissertation at Bangkok’s Silpakorn University. There’s a gallery of photos here, but be forewarned these pieces are squeamishly realistic.
Sculptor Anthony Gormley skipped the body altogether and just jumped into bed, using 8000 slices of sandwich bread…while other artists prefer to focus on doughy facial portraits, traditional life-like food designs, or simple free form abstract creations.
For a quick intro on sculpting bread check out this recipe and tutorial on PastryChef.net, or these videos from award winning baker Chef Hitz. Hitz also shares a few tips on his website Breadhitz.com.
