From still life to the waste. Food representation in art history from a contemporary photo perspective

Abstract

This essay reflects about the representation of food in Art History analysing why food performance have been consider traditionally as a minor issue and keeps the hypothesis of its exponential growth in the contemporary art market, very much alive today in the form of photography images. This article analyses the representation of food at different moments in art history, defending the idea of abundance in the still life images. The text argues about that formerly presented mainly food and although essentially no record of these representations were always organic waste; however at the present time still life images have become garbage representations, waste in all its forms, non-degradable litter. Through the analysis of some of the most relevant art works related with gastronomy representation, this article shows, that contemporary still life are pretty much reliable than what a superficial criticism had argued in the past. They conform a whole representation system and meaning, in a constant evolution that place us in the centre of culture, because the still life talks about sociology, politics and economy. Definitely they talk about the environmental impact that we produce across our daily routines.