When people tell you not to play with your food, just tell them that it's for the sake of art. At least that's what Hannah Rothstein must have done when she envisioned Thanksgiving dinner through the eyes of famous artists last year.
The enthusiastic feedback she received from fans was so supportive and positive that she decided to release a sequel this year, featuring more lesser known modern artists (albeit still massively talented), along with several more popular names sprinkled in here and there.
Each dish Rothstein created was made to encapsulate the spirit of the artist's methodology without making an exact replica, retelling their work while simultaneously paying homage to their contributions. Furthermore, rather than use a paintbrush and a canvas, Rothstein created these inspiring pieces using the ingredients of a Thanksgiving meal: corn, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
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Salvador Dali
“This piece was designed to mimic Dalí’s melting clocks. I first plated and photographed, then digitally edited the photo to achieve the melting look.”
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Jean-Michel Basquiat
“I chose to keep the background simple so as to keep the eye focused on the symbol for which Basquiat is best known: a crown."
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Keith Haring
“Referencing the simple, dynamic aesthetic of Haring, this plate recreates one of his figures. I kept the background plain so as to keep the figure from being visually overwhelmed by the host of other textures each food item created.”
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Joan Miro
“For this work, I drew upon Miro’s ‘Melancholic Singer,’ but made a few simple tweaks to change the figure into a Thanksgiving-apropos turkey. I kept the composition in mind, but made a few alterations to account for the more coarse medium of food. Lines were drawn with a dowel dipped in gravy, and blocks were shaped and placed with the help of a knife point.”
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Gustav Klimt
"Created with the ever-classy material known as spray paint, this work was inspired by Klimt's Portrait Of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. I employed the foods' varying shapes and textures to reference the patterns Klimt used. And it being a piece about Thanksgiving, I swapped Klimt's usual subject matter for an apropos, albeit slightly awkward, turkey."
Rothstein made 10 new pieces in total as part of her Seconds series: the five above and five others. Additionally, limited-edition prints of all the dishes (both from last year and this year) will be available for purchase, with a portion of each sale going to the SF-Marin Food Bank to help provide Thanksgiving meals to underprivileged families this year.
This series just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder first, and then eventually the belly.
Image Source: Hannah Rothstein
