27-SEP-2003 from 20:30

Blanc-mange (lit. white-eat) has its roots in medieval times, originally a dish of cream, shredded chicken breasts, almonds and eggs. Now it has become a dessert with the meat ommited. Blanc-mange means figuratively “nonsense” or “trivial matters”. The tradition of eating “white foods” (dairy, chicken, pasta etc…) esp. during the fast is something found all over the world. White foods seem to have a purifying quality to them. Though accused of being bland and unimaginative, white foods lend themselves to be painted like a blank canvas.

Structured as a slow-food event, food films will be projected on the edible screens of white foods. Each course brings a new film with new dishes, new table and surrounding design. The visual and aesthetics of the food/table design should blend well with the choice of film. Spectators/diners wear white clothes, thus becoming themselves part of the projection surface. As they eat their dinners the look/feel/taste and experience of the film will continuously change. The idea of slowly consuming 'art' visually as well as digestively works well with notions of cultural studies that our present culture is 'visual', 'immediate' and 'instant'. This is the idea of the 'white cube' revisited: it is something to be consumed and internalised with gusto; a critique on regular white cube gallery spaces where the 'do not touch the art' dogma still reigns. The dinner table figures as social, aesthetic, and filmic interface. Mutable to its consumers appetite.

images by hanne de nil > http://fo.am/food/2003_blancMange/

postponed until 2004

simmering media event at Osteria Etruria, Quai aux Briques 80, 1000 Brussels

“There are several reasons why we chose to construct a menu with an increased number of smaller courses. One of the most important being that, when we eat food, the powerful and fascinating brain to palate connection only has a limited attention span. (…)This is one of the many reasons that we find main courses in gastronomic restaurants to be the most uninteresting. The argument that it is because our palates are more sensitive and we are more hungry at the beginning of the meal does not hold, as many people seem to enjoy starters and desserts more so than the main courses themselves.” Heston Blumenthal

The Italian art of 'antipasti' and 'aperitivi', Spanish 'tapas', Greek and middle eastern 'meze', indonesian and chinese 'rice tables' and other meals consisting of many small dishes, correspond in aesthetics and functionality to the so called 'remix culture'. The remix artists utilise tiny samples of sounds, images and other media to create a new and unique blend of the material that previously existed in a different form. This contemporary phenomenon is experienced in variety of spaces and media, greatly facilitated by the internet, allowing for a large amount of audio-visual material to be accessible and shared among the makers and the consumers. The soundBites evening adds several new ingredients to the mix: the smells, tastes, colours, shapes and textures of food and drinks.

see Bite Sized Lectures