The cheeses of France present EAT ART the french cheese culture The cheeses of France present EAT ART the french cheese culture Brie, Maroillles, Neufchâtel, Tania & Vincent, Cniel The Cheeses of France and the Art of French Eating

French culture embodies a long and varied history, seeks to try all of the cheeses will have to fully explore and French art has deep roots that have evolved our many regions, from rugged mountain hillsides to throughout the two last millenniums. The French lush green valleys to seaside villages, to discover all culinary arts, as well, have a rich and distinguished the diversities of the French landscapes and people past, with monumental occurrences happening nearly that help make the French cheese plate so diverse. every century. In the 17th century, Louis the XIV and his famous chef, Francois Vatel, made eating an “art” The French are very proud of their cheeses, and we in France. Even earlier, in the 13th century, the frst value our cheeses so highly that France is the only collection of recipes was published -- the “Viandier” country in the world where we have created a specifc by Taillevent, a book on the Art of creating pleasure course devoted to cheese. The famous Plateau de through tasting food. Fromage, the Cheese Plate, that is served between the main course and dessert is an essential moment In this same creative vein, the art of making and eating within a meal, an interlude between the warm and cheese holds a very high and esteemed position in the savory part of the meal and the chilled and sweet French culinary arts. In every valley in France, people end of a meal. Even today, in every home throughout are proud of the cheeses produced in their region, as France, and for every meal, the French continue to eat the cheeses are tied so closely to their local culture the same way: an appetizer frst, followed by the main and have helped form their unique identity over many course, then the Plateau de Fromage, and fnally the decades or centuries. dessert. Different aspects and forms, different favors, different colors and textures, and different techniques have This unique aspect to the way the French eat has been been developed, honed and perfected throughout the registered at UNESCO, recognizing the non-tangible last twenty centuries to make up the French cheese element of French culture and French gastronomy plate of today. Most of the cheeses take their name that belongs to the World Heritage. In short, eating from small villages, such as Camembert, Roquefort, cheese has become for the French part of the Art of Epoisses or Pont-l’Evêque, or from the name of a Living. Pont-l’Evêque county such as Comté or Brie, or from a valley like Beaufort or a province like Cantal. Doctors now recommend that the French continue to eat this way, to avoid the obesity epidemic that Although France is refered to “the land of a 1 000 has spread all over the world, but less in France than cheeses”, nearly 1 200 cheeses are made today and everywhere else. Is it because the French eat cheese many of these cheeses are available within France that they are healthier and thinner? Many people and throughout the world. The adventurous eater who believe so, and scientists attribute this to the diversity Plateau de fromages - The cheese plate, N. Carnet, Cniel of thousands of natural nutrients, micronutrients and created the “Eat Art” movement and who some years bacterias that coexist within each cheese, interacting later opened The Food Culture Museum, an informal each other to become a unique food that is not only museum preserving diverse popular food culture delicious, but supports physical and mental health. throughout the word; and fnally Krai, an artist from Cheese is good for the body, and good for the spirit. Thailand currently residing in , who adapted his art of carving tropical fruits to the French culture and When we eat, we are not only consuming the product is now the only sculptor on cheeses in the world. itself, but the culture that surrounds a specifc food. These artists’ performances are focused on: 1) the art When you eat a piece of Camembert, you are also of French cheese, 2) the cheese being a support of tasting a part of Normandy and of the deep history of their art, or their art being a support of the cheese and that region. You only have to close your eyes and you 3) French cheese being the support of a food culture. can feel the landscape and the specifc favor of this part of France. And this is exactly the same with any These artists will make us think about what we eat, cheese. A piece of Roquefort on your tongue, and the how we eat, and why eating is so important. Most landscape of the Massif Central comes alive in your importantly, they will help us discover how eating is mouth and soul. an Art, and is part of both our local and world cultures. Let’s enter into the Art of the Cheeses of France... The “Eat Art” movement was created by Daniel Spoeri in the early sixties, and was part of the Fluxus Laurent Damiens movement that created interaction between art and Director of the Milk Factory Gallery, Paris food.

This art movement from the sixties, which was developed later by the famous artist Antoni Miralda to a Food Culture movement, could to miss the Art of the French cheeses.

For the frst time ever, during the Art Basel Fair, the Milk Factory, a Parisian Art Gallery specializing in the “Eat Art” movement, will create a happening with three “Eat Art” artists: Dorothee Seltz, known as the “Eat Art” baby, who began work as an artist in the late 1960s; Antoni Miralda, who with Daniel Spoeri Cheeses - Pièce montée, Kraï, AD Ich & Kar, Photo J.J. Pallot, Cniel Livarot, Camembert, Pont-l’Evèque, Tania & Vincent, Cniel Eat Art, a state of mind

In this era of Fooding and other creative culinary experiences targeting our taste buds, Eat Art seems a noteworthy trend that many claim to have started, simply because they share food as a starting point. While Eat Art is subject to all claims of membership and unifying values, few people, however, truly know what it is. Eat Art was born well before the current craze for food – more than 50 years ago, from an exclusive relationship with artist Daniel Spoerri, its creator, theoretician and main agent. It emerged with links to New Realism, a movement Spoerri was involved in, and developed with a happening approach reminiscent of the artist’s links with theatre production and later Fluxus.

Eat Art’s name alone speaks volumes. way, everyday life was elevated to the rank of works Eat Art frst of all describes the use of food as a of art, while the artist was simply the humble servant medium for artistic creation, thus doing away with a of chance petrifying his own meals in the privacy of formal representation of food. A chapter is closed in a hotel room. This state of servitude became such the long pictorial tradition of the still life, making way a burden to Daniel Spoerri that he had to create for a tridimensional, tangible form that is no longer “developments” of this initial principle. Eat Art was a brilliant copy of reality but, in accordance with the one of them. precept of New Realism, reality itself. Previously a thespian and dancer, Spoerri decided to Eat Art is expressed in two different, sometimes set the scene for the snare-picture, showing all the complementary, forms: works of art and happenings steps leading to the fnal result. From 1963 to 1965, where food is actually present, more often than not Chef Daniel transformed art galleries into restaurants, edible. At the heart of this 1960s experimental art, where he cooked the food, assigned spectators the Daniel Spoerri decided to turn his focus to food and role of unwitting creators of snare-pictures, and our eating habits. By allowing spectators to create sometimes invited art critics to wait on the tables. new links with their most mundane environments, he urged them to refect on these cultural habits while Then gradually Eat Art banquets broke free of the questioning the very essence of art. snare-picture and developed around themes obliging the spectator-agent to react and act. While this new concept was only labelled by Daniel For example, in 1970, with Henkel Bankett (Henkel Spoerri in 1970, it originated 10 years earlier in Banquet) and L’Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), Daniel the tableau-piège (snare-picture), as well as the Spoerri invited spectators and artists to “digest” exhibit “L’épicerie” (the grocery store) organized 1960s art, both literally and fguratively. In 1983 in in Copenhagen in 1961. For this exhibit, Spoerri Jouy-en-Josas, the ritual of Déjeuner sur l’herbe (The transformed a gallery into a grocery store where Luncheon the Grass) led to the burial of the snare- spectators could buy cost-price food products picture. Arm und Reich (Rich and Poor) gave chance stamped with the words “Attention: Work of Art – the upper hand and offered a slice of life with social perishable food”. The exhibition Catalogue Tabou, and cultural differences, as seen in eating habits and was made of bread rolls flled with household refuse. traditions. The Menus Travestis (Disguised Dinners), on the other hand, fooled guests as to the nature of Already, the snare-picture concept (which captured the prepared dishes, demonstrating that taste was the momentary state of a table after a meal, becoming also conditioned by cultural codes. a picture when mounted on a wall), had been born into the world of art, particularly New Realism, of Considering that every theme, just like every play, which Spoerri was a founding member in 1960. In this could be repeated again and again, Daniel Spoerri Daniel Spoerri, Dusseldorf (DR) organized around 50 banquets in the space of 40 years, making Eat Art a timeless practice.

In parallel to these culinary happenings, one place was of particular importance in the history of Eat Art: Dusseldorf. In June 1968, after his return from exile on the Greek island of Symi, Daniel Spoerri decided not to set himself up again as an artist but to start a bar-restaurant, Restaurant Spoerri, leaving clients to decide whether it was an ordinary establishment or a permanent happening. On the menu, the dish of the day and meat dishes were featured alongside the chef’s specialities (omelette with grilled ants, bear paws, python stew or elephant trunk steak), considered food aberrations.

Certain artists went to Restaurant Spoerri to cook. In 1970, the Lalannes organized a Dîner Cannibale (Cannibal Dinner) of food made in moulds of Spoerri’s own body. And in 1971, Dorothée Selz and Antoni Miralda, the Colourist Caterers created an Eat Art Banquet of food (aspic, chicken stock, vegetarian steak, snipe with foie gras, cheese, cake, etc.) that was unrecognizable with the use of food colouring.

In 1970, the opening of the Eat Art Gallery, specialized in the creation and exhibit of Eat Art, much of which was made from foodstuffs, established Eat Art as a practice that brought people together since, from 1970 to 1972, about 30 artist friends exposed their work there. In this way, Arman reworked his Accumulations, this time in marzipan, César updated his Compressions using several kilos of sweets and remade his Pouce (Thumb) in caramel, Joseph Beuys presented fsh bones in wooden boxes with Freitagsobjekt (Friday Object), Ben shut himself in a box and fasted for 24 hours, Roy Lichenstein hung his Brushstrokes in sponge cake with brightly coloured icing, and Dieter Roth made self-portraits from chocolate…

As both the founder and the main driving force behind Eat Art, Daniel Spoerri never let his vision turn his attention away from the people he invited to share the experience. Eat Art was a little like an invitation to dinner with friends. So let’s not talk about an art movement or a trend but rather an Eat of Art state of mind that has quite rightly attracted a wider circle of followers. EAT ART Gallery, Dusseldorf : Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, Cannibal diner, 1970 / Ben, jeûne de 24 heures, 1970 / César, Thumb in caramel, 1971 / Girard-Fassier, Daniel Spoerri presents Eat Art, 2004 Reproduction menu Henkel banquet, Mondrian plate, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Andy Warhol, Armand / (DR). Private collection Beatnik picnic Fête en Blanc (Party in White) – 1970 Orchestrated by Antoni Miralda, Joan Rabascall, Dorothée Selz and Jaume Xifra

In the 1960s, the plurality of forms indicated a new way of seeing art through an interdisciplinary lens, with artists starting to question the distinction between art and life. Antoni Miralda, Joan Rabascall, Dorothée Selz and Jaume Xifra were among the many young artists who felt the need for change and attempted to explore new means of artistic expression, turning to felds of competence that had previously been excluded. For many, one of the consequences of this iconoclastic effervescence was to abandon painting and make a sustainable commitment to redefning art. Artists who were experts in happenings decided to leave the restrictive framework of workshops and museums, which were cutting them off from reality, and make their contributions directly in the outside world, where they would enjoy greater freedom of action.

The ceremonials known as Mémorial (Memorial) and the ideas of death and renaissance, the changing Fête en Blanc (Party in White) perfectly illustrate of the seasons set the pace and illustrated art’s this change in the way art spread and developed, communion with nature. which, let’s not forget, was accompanied by the depersonalization and anonymity of artistic The meal at the fnal stage of the ceremonials production. At that time, the role of artists consisted reinforced the festive image and put an end to the of staging a scenario by choosing an environment and concept of permeating the spectator-actor physically determining a time to bring participants into a shared and mentally by soliciting all of his or her senses. The expectancy. In taking part, spectators emerged from central idea of internal colouring steered the choice their secular passiveness to promote this ephemeral of food towards white milk, a symbol of purity and art that was experienced rather than viewed. virginity.

In France, at the beginning of the 1960s, the nouveaux Al fresco eating at the end of the procession offered réalistes (new realists) favoured the event-like and participants the pleasure of a leisurely moment with transitory nature of art with action-spectacles, as nature along with the new forms of sociability and art, confrmed by art critic Pierre Restany. “The strategy which reinvented the ritual of the meal as a déjeuner for appropriating objects, like a direct connection with sur l’herbe (luncheon on the grass). The ceremonials reality, paved the way for a strategy for organizing Mémorial and Fête en blanc adhered to the idea that life, creating situations that allowed intervention in the picnics did not simply satiate guests’ hunger but the precise sociological context of a city, a party or a were also part of a process of desecrating Sunday natural area”, he declared. values. Picnicking became a way to play with alterity and reinvent people’s way of being in the world, At the end of the 1960s, Dorothée Selz and the Catalan considering the ritual of eating as an act of pleasure artists in Paris were also interested in performance and leisure in the realms of escape, taking a stroll art, which they strove always to give a ceremonial and being in good company. At the end of the 1960s, context. The frst two ritual parties, Mémorial and this moment of pleasure, an alternative experience Fête en blanc, focused on a circuit to be completed by that went against conventional dining etiquette was 150 to 300 spectators who were invited to appropriate one of the projections of freedom made by a new the public grounds of the château and village of generation who turned their desire for communion Verderonne. Designed primarily as festive occasions, with nature into a cause for revolution. The image these ceremonials used language that followed the of large open-air gatherings of beatniks and hippies codes and symbols of cultural traditions found in remains associated with a communal, nomadic way religiosity. Favouring rites of passage, and extolling of life, transforming the Sunday family picnic into a Fête en Blanc – Party in White – 1970 (DR). Private collection parody with social and political connotations. white balloons and perfumed smoke being released. The nuit blanche (“white night” or sleepless night) At the end of the 1960s, Antoni Miralda, Joan then started with the projection of a flm blanc (“white Rabascall, Dorothée Selz and Jaume Xifra cultivated flm” or blank flm). this feeling of intergenerational dissent and decided to use the ritual of eating as a metaphor for change. For the Miralda-Selz couple, these ritual parties In the 19th century, gastronome Brillat-Savarin had represented the frst performances they had created already underlined that “the pleasure of eating is and organized. Food was already a decisive element, the thoughtful sensation that springs from various while the meal was asserted as the supreme fnal stage circumstances made up of the facts, places, things in the timed circuit that participants were invited to and people accompanying the meal”, and these take. These artists, who were to become “colourist artists made every effort not to isolate the meal from caterers” after the white party, chose the picnic, the an environment that could be shaped. simplest and most basic manifestation of a meal, to commemorate the very basis of our existence: life On Sunday 13 June 1970, the Fête en blanc and death. This apt choice meant that, even today, accompanied the renewal of spring, and the four the image of a ghostly, anonymous crowd walking artists, in a poetic approach to renaissance, invited through the village and the Verderonne park emanates 100 or so people to “assume a party-like conscience”. a feeling of purity and truth untainted by the artistic exercise, which instead served this delicate balance After arriving and signing the Grand Livre Blanc between art and life. (white guestbook), the spectator-actors were invited to wear white capes, designed by Paco Rabanne and matching the fowers they had received as a gift. Then C. Spotti, Milk Factory gallery, Paris milk drinks and blank newspapers were distributed while they awaited the start of the ritual. Nearby, two Medici vases of whitewash guarded the entrance to the circuit, signaled by a white carpet leading to a large mirror. At this moment of the ceremony, participants watched doves being released. A single male and female doves were taken and placed in a The coloring caterers transparent box to symbolize mating. A blow-up dome housed the pair, their cage covered in a white cloth. In turn, participants were invited to enter the dome, meditate at this symbol of reproduction and From 1967 to 1972, Dorothy Selz and Antoni Miralda light a candle. worked together on several pieces of art that placed food and color at the heart of their artistic expres- Upon leaving, each group of four people received a sion. Whether they were art objects (a series of “in- white sheet that, once unfolded, gave form to the congruous Cakes”, “Meringue Landscapes”, “breads procession and created a physical and symbolic in color”) or ritualistic ceremonies, they used edible link between the celebrants. Led by a fautist, the items as raw materials for their concept of physical procession explored the village before returning to the and mental impregnation through color. In 1970, cal- grounds of the castle, where it snaked along the lake ling themselves the Coloring Caterers, they became up to the meadow. There, the buffet of white food was experts in the art of intensively coloring food to the laid out and the participants took their places around point where it becomes unrecognizable. In 1971, their it, using the sheets as rugs and napkins. Once the art brought them to Dusseldorf where Daniel Spoerri decor had been set for the picnic, 22 brides appeared. opened the Restaurant “Spoerri” and later, the Eat Art Each carried part of the meal and served the naturally Gallery. They were the only artists who created works white foods (milk, cheese and cream, as well as rice, of art both for an exhibit at the Eat Art Gallery and for a Happening in the restaurant. fsh, meringue and wine), before the meal ended with Happy Birthday Eath Day! Cake by Dorothée Selz and Antoni Mirada – LOOK Magazine – New York, May 4th 1971 The taste of colours

Colour artist Dorothée Selz uses and abuses (edible) colour in her work: red, green, blue and yellow. She adorns the arches of her edible ephemeral sculptures with hues and colours breads that will turn into an installation once they have been baked and sliced. Is this insolence or artistic experimentation? The answer is both at once. She has a creative, poetic spirit, marked by a taste for the ephemeral, a hunger for symbols and rituals, and an appetite for life, all seasoned with a good sense of humour, mockery and provocation.

As far back as Roman times, food lent itself to refned from foor to ceiling was the colour of soot, from the artistic exercises in which colour was a way to furniture, crockery and dishes to the young slaves impress guests, like the disguised dishes, illusions whose naked bodies had been covered in ink. By the of tastes, and dining-hall trompe l’oeil decor. From fickering light of oil lamps, the emperor terrorized his start to fnish, banquets were illusions (from the Latin guests, overwhelming them with tales of homicides ludere, to play). Dorothée Selz wouldn’t have minded and massacres. The senators went home with their being invited. She would have said she wanted to stomacs in knots, but more surprises were still in store. “desacralize food, make a game of it” and “create In the hours that followed, Domitian had delivered light-hearted provocation”. to each of them gold and silver dishes of extreme refnement, not forgetting a handsome slave, freshly The Repas en quatre couleurs (Four-Colour Meal) washed: macabre tragedy followed by the humour of organized in 1970 by Dorothée Selz and Antoni a mischievous emperor. Miralda at the Givaudan gallery in Paris (where each participant sat down to a dish made up of a single In the 14th and 15th centuries, Western European colour – yellow, blue, green or red) echoed the summer cuisine was known for its colourfulness, as well as banquets of Emperor Heliogabalus some 18 centuries its predilection for spices. Here again, guests were earlier. Depending on the whims of this illustrious surprised (and had their appetites whetted). An host, meals would be green (prasinus), sea green English cookery book of the time provided recipes for (vitreus) or sky blue (venetus). A blue sauce would numerous chromatic variations of dishes. White could give the illusion of fsh still swimming in seawater, be obtained by the presence of almonds, rice or white while the pepper seasoning would be replaced by ginger, rivaling black, the colour of buckwheat. Sorrel pearls. The emperor’s sycophantic courtiers were less or parsley did the trick for green, while saffron turned lucky: one day they were invited to a meal where the food a more or less intense shade of yellow depending dishes awaiting them were simply embroidered on on when the spice was added. For pink, wild their napkins! strawberry purée was perfect. The blue of Antique Roman meals did not disappear either. For dishes in The diners invited by Dorothée Selz, Antoni Mirala bright red, a hue the English were particularly fond and the Catalan artists in Paris to a purple and black of, medieval chefs used orcanet, a plant growing in meal on All Saints’ Day 1969 were doubtless no less Mediterranean regions. But they could also use very astounded than the Roman senators invited to a expensive products procured by apothecaries from funeral banquet by Domitian. the farthest-fung regions of the world known to them « 7 Edible Arches » at that time: red sandalwood picked in Ceylan or 2007 - Barranquilla, Colombia Greek historian Dion Cassius explains how everything Alliance Française, Hotel El Prado © D.Selz dragon’s blood, a resin secreted from the palm trees of Borneo.

Chefs’ creativity knew no bounds. Maître Chiquart, who cooked for the Duke of Savoy, invented a four-colour blanc-mangé of gold, sky blue, silver and gules (red). As for the famous cameline sauce, which was as common in medieval times as our mayonnaise or ketchup today, its name was taken from the camel- like colour of its toast and cinnamon ingredients.

Eric Birlouez – professor of history and the sociology of food

D. Selz

« Ligne Incohérente » Chateau De Pollenzo Italy - 2008

« Colonnes insolites » Saint Ghislain Belgium - 2012

« Arch with sphere » 2010 - FIAC contemporary Art Fair Grand Palais - Paris Neufize OBC Bank reception © Brice Martenet-Cuidet Art on a plate

Oh, how lovely to combine Brie with a Cognac! Brie offers its tender charm with notes of hazelnuts and creaminess. We taste the cheese and take a sip, allowing the Cognac to lend its very tactile assiduity to this cheerful rind, a match in perfect harmony. The subtle aromas and tactile sensations ft together wonderfully.

N. Carnet Cniel

When French chef Michel Bras celebrates the nuptials of cook, architect and designer turns the ritual of of milk skin and a sweet strawberry liqueur, when eating into a sacred aesthetic experience. In a series Pierre Gagnaire treats us at the end of a meal with a created in France, Kraï and graphic designers Ich&Kar surprising union of Beaufort and saké, they’re happy swapped bricks and breeze blocks for Tomme cheeses to observe that a true harmony of matter and tastes to create architectures, or rather “architextures”. has been achieved. Whether inspired directly by Bauhaus or 17th century Presentation whets the appetite of good food: bas-relief, the look and feel of each one evokes the “gastronomy is an aesthetic and philosophical pieces montées cakes of celebrations. Daring indeed! question,” stated philosopher Michel Onfray. Cheese enters the preserve of the cream puff. And On splattered plates, like Miro paintings, beauty is why should’nt it when the product is one of the on the menu of post-modern appetites. Artists to the gastronomic emblems of France? This story goes back core, right to the tips of their forks, the children of the a while ago. Pascal was surprised at art’s desire to 2010s approach meals as works of art. make us admire things that have nothing admirable Aesthetic infation invites our eyes and our taste buds about them. The history of art is full of still lifes with to the feast. “We civilized humans of the 21st century, milk jugs or cheeses, series of game and gutted fsh. Antoni Miralda & Montse Guillen, let’s live in the time of aesthetic triumph and adoration The vanitas paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries El Internacional Tapas Bar & of beauty – the time of its idolatry” noted philosopher tell of the fear of death and the desire to delay our fnal Restaurant team New York 1985 Yves Michaud in his essay L’art à l’Etat Gazeux (Art hours. in a Gaseous State). We need only compare two cookery books from the 1950’s and the modern day Modern cuisine appears to be an art that sublimates to note our fascination with food aesthetics. Major reality. The Apollonian quest for perfection has food designers swear by the good and the beautiful. banished misshapen foods, the odd forms that haunt Food photography has contributed widely to the nature. But ugliness can be tasty too. This “artitude” “artifcation” of foodstuffs. Food has become iconic, is not simply food cosmetics. It cannot exist without a humble Comté cheese being transformed into an a perfect recognition of tastes. Food is not reduced object of desire. And sculptor Kraï won’t be the one to a simple object to be contemplated, something to disagree. Liberally inspired by the sharp squires of between terrestrial and spiritual food. Let’s leave noble tables in the enlightenment with their traditional Dionysus to watch over the feast of the senses. The sculptures of fruit and Thai vegetables, Kraï uses his joy of food demands the simple scent of a madeleine scalpel to carve Beaufort and other hard cheeses with cake straight from the oven or the sensual pleasure of abundant dexterity. a triple-cream cheese. “People are food-lovers just as they are artists or poets”, noted Guy de Maupassant. Antoni Miralda & Montse Guillen, Art is now tasted with a teaspoon and presented on Columbus Trophy Bar. a platter. Menus read like poetry. Food is transformed C. Spotti, Milk Factory gallery, Paris El Internacional Tapas Bar & into ready-mades à la Marcel Duchamp. The coalition Restaurant. New York 1984-86 The cheeses of France culture

Cheese is a very important part of French culture and enhance your BLT sandwich by adding a slice of French eating habits. Its production and consumption Comté or Morbier, add a slice of Fourme d’Ambert to started about ten thousand years before B.C. with a your hamburger, serve a melted Camembert as a dip fresh cheese called « Faisselle». As the centuries went to your friends, et Voilà ! by, more and more different cheeses were produced, lots of them, by monks. Le Repas à la Française The meal, French style Today, France is called “The Land of a Thousand Cheeses !” yes, a thousand cheeses ! French cuisine has been declared a “World Intangible France is known for its savoir-faire in cheese making Heritage” by UNESCO for the following reasons: and each cheese is a work of art: each step of the way is controlled: from the food given to the herd, to the The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary farmer’s milk, to the cheese production and fnally to social practice intended to celebrate the most the packaging. A long process to please our taste- important moments of each individual’s and group’s buds and our other senses, just as the art works of lives : births, weddings, anniversaries, success family “Eat Art”. reunions, dating... On these occasions, guests enjoy the art of «good eating» and «good drinking». The The American consumer travels more frequently to gourmet meal focuses on being happy together, on and has the opportunity to see, smell and enjoying the pleasure of savoury tastes and on the taste many of the cheeses and is happy to fnd some harmony between human beings and the products of them back home. of mother nature. Among its important components are the careful selection of dishes among a variety of Their appreciation of cheese is growing: a wide recipes, the purchase of good products, preferably variety of artisanal cheeses made in the USA, a very local, whose favors are well harmonized; the marriage large variety of cheeses from Europe and mostly from of food and wine; the table dressing; the tasting and France, are available to them on a daily basis. smelling gestures (smell and taste what is served at the table)... The goal of the Cheeses of France campaign is A gastronomic meal must respect a specifc order of to introduce to the American consumer the wide servings : it begins with an aperitif and ends with a variety of the cheeses available on the US market digestif. In between, at least two to four dishes are and to create awareness about the multiple ways of served : fsh or meat with vegetables, cheese and consuming them in their day-to-day eating habits. dessert. « Nature morte » A gourmet meal reinforces family ties, friendship and Still life As is or added to an everyday American dish, strengthens social bonds in general. D.Meignan & o. Amy, Cniel Comté, Saint Nectaire, Morbier, Tania & Vincent, Cniel Dorothée Selz

A French artist, she lives and works in Paris, France.

Since the 70’s, Dorothée Selz has been working simultaneously on two types of art works: Paintings using more often reworked imaging with a graphic colored sign Very large colorful « edible ephemeral sculptures » designed for a specifc event and a given architectural space, the surface of the sculpture was covered with food available to the public.

Other works and exhibits by the artist include:

Daniel Spoerri ‘s « Eat Art » gallery jointly with Antoni Miralda (1971) A large edible fresco for the opening of the « Design 21» exhibit, in New York, an exhibit signed by Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman (2001)

In Paris, Dorothée also designed and created large edible pieces for:

The inaugural of the re-opening of the National Gallery of the Jeu de Paume (1993) The inaugural of the Cité de la Musique built by the architect, Christian de Porzamparc (1995)

She was also the Curator of Art Sugar at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (1979)

Moreover, Dorothée’s art pieces have been exhibited regularly at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and also in China, Paraguay, Colombia, Germany, Abu Dhabi, and in several other countries.

«Sphere all over» an edible sculpture.

«The idea is to create an enchanting experience where sculpture and taste - tastes of French cheeses - and a touch of magic intermingle to excite the senses… The aim is to ensure that guests leave with a vivid memory of a special artistic experience… an eat art performance !» D. Selz Antoni Miralda

A multi-disciplinary Spanish artist, Antoni Since 1995, he has been working on his project « The Miralda lives and works in and Food Cultura Museum » , a Museum without walls. Miami. Its goal is to describe, collect, preserve and present the relationship between food, popular culture and art His early works, « Soldiers cleared », are an assembly (exhibits: Food Pavilion, Expo 2000 Hannover, Power of small white plastic soldiers. Food and Sabores y Lenguas).

In the Paris of the 70’s, , Antoni created works showing In 2010, the Museum Reina Sofa in Madrid dedicated the meal’s ceremonial as a creative element, through a major Miralda retrospective: De gustibus non colors and symbolism. disputandum From the 70’s to the 90’s, Antoni lived in New York. Focalizing on the edible, he created a public space where attendees were able to participate Cheese topography Some of his major works and exhibits include : A wooden map of France featuring an arrangement Fest für Leda, Documenta 6, Kassel (1977) of a dozen or so plates, sometimes piled up, each Wheat & Steak, Kansas City (1981) carrying the name of a cheese: Camembert, Brie, Santa Comida, NYC, Miami, Paris (1984 – 1989) bleu, Comté… More than 100 in all. That’s a lot less The design and the concept of the famous El than the 1,200 cheeses that are made in France, but Internacional restaurant in Tribeca, New York, jointly this is a poetic homage by artist Miralda to one of the with Montse Guillén (1984-1986) country’s most emblematic products. Diversity and The “Honeymoon project” where the imaginary quality are the watchwords for his installation. This marriage of the Statue of Liberty with the Monument artist has built up his oeuvre as if taking an inventory to Christopher Columbus was celebrated - Barcelona of cultural and gastronomic heritage, creating work (1986-1992) that deserves a place in his Food Culture Museum.

Antoni Miralda, Antoni Miralda, Honeymoon Project Wedding Banquet. Food Pavilion. Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas 1992 Expo 2000 Hannover « PIECE MONTEE » Pyramid Shaped Cake, an edible art – KRAI

The art of carving fruits in Thailand of these discussions, I discovered how cheese is an is an old practice that was developed important part of French culture and French eating in the 13th century, during the habits. Sukkothai period. A carved fruit My experience in regards to the Thai Culture for gave the product a higher image tropical fruits and the art of fruit carving led me to and value, and consequently, all attempt these same artistic techniques on cheese. I the royal members belonging to realized that all the cheeses have different textures, this golden age of the Thai Culture from the very soft to the very hard. Some were easy never ate a fruit if it was not carved to carve, others were more diffcult to work with, and beforehand by an artist. And, still others were impossible because of their softness. because they considered it an art For this reason, I had to create and adapt various piece, consuming it fed both their techniques for different cheeses. body and soul. When I worked on fruit carvings for special occasions in Thailand, I made a pièce montée (a pyramid shaped Eight centuries later, this tradition in Thailand still cake). A pièce montée is a very impressive cake that remains, and the ephemeral art of carving fruits resembles a pyramid, usually made for very special continues. Nowadays, the carved fruits are served occasions such as weddings. I adapted the technique for offcial ceremonies, Buddhist events in temples, in making this extraordinary creation to the carving special banquets such as weddings, and other of French cheeses, by shaping and presenting the important events. cheeses as if they were a wedding cake. And what a beautiful way to serve one’s cheese plate, or rather a When I arrived in France, I was surprised to see how pièce montée, during a meal! much cheese is valued in the French culture. The Carving cheese is the same as carving fruit; it is an French cannot have a meal without that traditional ephemeral art, and the fnal objective of this art is to Plateau de fromage (cheese plate), nor without talking be consumed, and the fnal pleasure is to be enjoyed about how proud they are about the many cheese on the palate. It is important for us to understand varieties found in France, their regions of origin, the that what we eat and how we eat is important. We specifc individual tastes and their differentiation may also consider eating as a spiritual act. To carve from other cheeses. a piece of French cheese into a work of art creates a real spiritual connection to the food, and to the person I realized that in Thailand, our tropical fruits are a very who created the piece. important part of our food culture, just as in France, cheese is a very important and natural part of a meal Like butter statues or sand mandalas from Tibet, food and, therefore, of French culture. carving is an expression of impermanence, a concept defned and explored in Buddhism. Oddly enough, the order in which one must eat fruits in Thailand is exactly the same as the order in which one must eat cheese in France: our palates naturally His work and exhibits include : default to the most instinctual, cultural order of tasting, which is to consume from the mildest to the The Cheeses of France Pop-Up Stores in New York, strongest in taste. San Francisco and Chicago – USA, 2012 The Milk Factory , Paris, France, 2010 When I look at the French while they are eating their The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, 2008 and 2009 cheese, I can tell why they compare it to works of art; Fruit Logisitica, Berlin, Germany, 2008 all their senses are awakened and their discussion The Fresh Attitude Gallery, Paris, France, 2004, 2007 about each cheese from their La Villette Museum, Paris, France, 2007 plateau de fromage can go on for hours. They will Jardin d’Acclimatation, Paris, France, 2006 discuss aroma, texture, taste -- and by being a part Alimentaria, barcelona, , 2006 Cheeses - pièce montée, Kraï, AD Ich & Kar, Photo J.J. Pallot, Cniel Langres, Chaource, Epoisses, Tania & Vincent, Cniel http://en.lamilkfactory.com www.cheesesoffrance.com www.facebook.com/lamilkfactory www.facebook.com/cheesesoffrance