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Week 7 - Part 1

Library Workshop tasks

Popular culture definition

Culture is based on the tastes of ordinary people rather than an educated elite.

Expand on the research

Examples of popular culture come from a wide array of genres, including popular music, print, cyber culture, sports, entertainment, leisure, fads, advertising and television.

Popular culture (or "pop culture") refers in general to the traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of a society's population. Popular culture is those types of media that have mass accessibility and appeal.

The term "popular culture" was coined in the mid-19th century, and it referred to the cultural traditions of the people.

Popular culture is simply a culture that is widely favoured or well-liked by many people: it has no negative connotations.

Pop culture in food is driven by the Food Network and includes Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Roni, which enables family and friends to dine together.

Impacts on food culture

Popular Culture, Food

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Ome-Pop/Popular-Culture-Food-and.html

Current trends: increasing trend in the United States toward consumerism, a trend that is reflected in more people eating away from home, ethnic diversity in diets.

Eating away from home.

Ethnic Foods: foods that come from other cultures. An increased incorporation of ethnic cuisines.

Building Language

Academic reading resources

Food and Media: Practices, Distinctions and Heterotopias

Edited ByJonatan Leer, Karen Klitgaard Povlsen

https://www-taylorfranciscom.ezproxy.massey.ac.nz/books/e/9781315582603

Brief description: This volume argues that contemporary food studies need to pay more attention to the significance of media in relation to how we 'do' food. We need to understand that food media is particularly central to the diverse contemporary social and cultural practices of food.

The importance of media in various spaces of food culture, as well as the importance of food in media products and media use.

Media and food practices

Already in 2004, Couldry suggested that a new paradigm was emerging in media studies, 'it treats media as the open set of practices relating to, or oriented around, media.' This would free media studies from the insoluble problem of how to prove media effects, and at the same time make non-media-centric investigations possible. In this case, it is between food and media.

Thus every historical period realises the interrelation between media and cultural fields such as food in specific ways that are to be explored empirically.

The article argues that what people actually do with media in relation to food in differing contexts and situations needs further investigation.

Food is connected to culture.

Media practices need to be researched in different contexts, home or institutions.

Medialization is embedded in communication, the routines and habits of everyday life, also in material and technological and societal structures.

Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography

Author Susan Bright

Exhibition: Feast for the Eyes – The Story of Food in Photography

https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/feast-eyes-story-food-photography

Intention of the exhibition and the book

This exhibition includes different types of arts, such as fine art and vernacular photography, commercial and scientific images, photojournalism and fashion.

In this exhibition, it shows that food has always been a much-photographed and consumed subject. Food as the subject matter is rich in symbolic meaning and across the history of art, has operated as a vessel for artists to explore a particular emotion, viewpoint or theme and express a range of aspirations and social constructs.

Media enables the way of photographing food to be part of people' s habits.

What Feast for the Eyes focuses is how food is represented and used in photographic practices by looking at a broad range of artists. This exhibition allows lots of different levels of problems for people to consider.

Feast for the Eyes traces the history and effect of food in photography.

Interview with Feast for the Eyes curators Susan Bright and Denise Wolff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nVmWn4t9AA

“It is always there. Food is easy to be controlled, moved and arranged. We are all related to food, as we feel something in the tastes and senses.” —— Bright and Wolff

The exhibition is divided into three sections, the first and the blue section is Still life. Sharon Core, a great contemporary example. Her work is complex, it is a reproduction of photos of the still life painting on the internet. She photographs how we consumed images and fine art.

The second and the yellow section is Around the Table. This section focuses on culture and identity, it is about how people gather around for food. Stephen Shore, in one of his photos of the McDonald's hamburger, We would know it's taken in America immediately. This section shows the idea of custom and identity really well. It is about a certain lifestyle.

The third and the red section is called Playing With the Food. This section deals with senses, like the taste, smell.

This exhibition is not just general food photography, it is more about how food functions in photography. The meaning of the work is worthy for us to consider over and over again.

I am very interested in section 2 of the exhibition and its meaning. In my opinion, food photography, as Bright mentioned, is not only to show what the food looks like (the beauty is also important) but more importantly, the meaning behind the photos. Food represents the appearance of an era and the customs of a country or region. It is the reflection of people's thoughts and certain lifestyles of a specific period, and a symbol of identity. I think this is the main purpose of my study of food popular culture, to explore the customs and culture contained in food, and at the same time to grasp its beauty.

Stunning photos show how American food consumption has changed in the past 100 years

https://www.businessinsider.com/15-stunning-photos-that-show-how-food-consumption-has-changed-2017-6

General information:

The same as the change in food consumption, the way societies plate, present, and document food also changed.

"Food can signify a lifestyle or a nation, hope or despair, hunger or excess" Susan Bright writes

Colour photographs began appearing in the early 1900s, and photographer Wladimir Schohin explored the complex process of autochrome, which used potato starch to help create the colour.

As colour photography became more popular and technically easier to create, photographers such as Nickolas Muray helped set the tone for 1940s food photography.

Photographer Stephen Shore is known for his photos of American culture. This photo, of his breakfast at Trail's End Restaurant in Kanab, Utah in 1973, has been celebrated by various photography critics.

Today, some photographers are creating completely new concoctions. Lorenzo Vitturi was inspired by the mix of cultures and foods found at his local market in the East End of London.

Thoughts:

This article describes the changes in food from past to present. People's thoughts and aesthetics are also changing according to different times they live in, and the changes can be visually reflected in the look of food. Viewers can explore the culture and people’s perspective on food in these different photos. This article also clearly describes how food can deliver the differences in each period and its related cultural effects on the expression of food.

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Researched photographers

Nickolas Muray

He was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic saber fencer.

While Muray is best known for his work as a celebrity portraitist, his magazine and fashion pictures from the 1930s and 1940s are superb examples of both colour photography and the post-war American advertising aesthetic of excess.

Thoughts:

The colours in the photos generally look bright and beautiful. I feel like it was shot in natural lighting as well as using a flashlight. The bright colours will make the audience feel appetizing. The colour and style of the picture made me think it was an oil painting at first sight, as it looks so beautiful that it feels a bit unreal.

This photo gives the audience a sense that it was generated in the old days at first glance, and it clearly describes the traditions of that era, such as people's eating habits, culture, and the way of doing food photography.

Stephen Shore

Thoughts:

Shore's photos are different from common food photography. Instead of fixing the photos to perfection, he keeps some of the flaws and it is more like a documentary way of photographing food.

The photos seem more realistic about the eating habits, breakfast and dinner choices of the time Shore was in.

These two photos show the culture and habits of a certain time and place, as well as people's identity.

Romulo Yanes

Romulo Yanes is a New York-based photographer who specializes in editorial, food, and travel.

Biography

Romulo Yanes

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1033723/bio

Romulo Yanes has defined the way we see food.

His passion for good food began with his childhood in Cuba and evolved into his career as a professional photographer.

Yanes photographed restaurant and home-style dishes, street scenes, chefs, entertaining features, ingredients, and food markets.

Emily Schramm Represents

https://emilyschrammrepresents.com/artist-portfolio/romulo-yanes-food-photographer/

Series ——Raw

His work is prominently featured and discussed in Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food In Photography (Aperture) by Susan Bright. She lauds Yanes as an image-maker whose style and work have made significant contributions to food photography and to our food culture at large.

Series ——New

Thoughts

Compared with the work of the first two artists, Yanes' works are obviously different. Yanes' photos tend to be aesthetic and have a strong sense of modernity. He shows contemporary eating habits and people's aesthetic thoughts of plating.

Danielle Wood

Production Paradise

https://www.productionparadise.com/member/london/danielle-wood.html

Danielle Wood is a London-based photographer specialising in food. Working with a small team of experts Danielle creates beautiful, fresh and vibrant images for a wide range of clients.

Danielle’s clients include Marks & Spencer, McDonald's, EDEKA, 4Creative, Warburtons, Compass, Slimming World, Octopus Publishing, Penguin, Harper Collins and many more.

Zifeng Qiu

Profoto

https://profoto.com/cn/local-stories/qiuzi-b10-michelin-star-shoot

The idea for this creation: to incorporate Chinese style into the artistic dishes of Michelin.

The two dishes created are Dongpo pork and beef stew with red wine. Dongpo pork is a traditional Chinese dish. He hopes that by using the help from Michelin's thinking to enhance the style to be more traditional. This is a good example of photographing food with different cultural styles.

For the table arrangement, the grey-black ceramic tile is used for the plate. The dark black background to enhance the texture of the food and to create a more advanced feeling.

To make the whole thing look more artistic and traditional, some smoke is added to the photo.

The food in Zifeng Qiu's photographs has both temperature and taste

https://new.qq.com/omn/20200213/20200213A0AF9R00.html

The food under his lens is full of healing functions. Looking at his photos, it feels like every cell in the body can feel the happiness and satisfaction brought by Qiu's food photography. Even though we might have not seen the real food, the taste of it is exposed already.

“Generally, commercial photographers have no style of their own, they need to meet the request of their clients.” But Qiu pays more attention to the control of the atmosphere: food photography is not only to make the food look good, but also to translate the taste of food into a visual experience. Incorporate emotion into food photography to resonate with the audience.

He thinks that we need to create a different atmosphere, see whether it is Chinese, Japanese, or Italian, then we will make our own decisions on combining different sets and props. Instead of putting wood in this project, using cement would look better. This is not certain as it depends on the food.

"I hope that I can always create more beautiful things based on my own emotions. I am willing to share and infect others, and pass on the beauty," said Qiu.

I like when texts are added to the photo, as they speak more information about the food. This is also a good example to show how Chinese people do nowadays for advertising, it is one of their typical ways of introducing their food on the menu. People in other countries or with different culture might do things differently.

Cherry Li

Interview with Cherry Li, Food Photographer

Dominique Musorrafiti | January 28, 2020 | China Magazine, China Views, Featured, Taste of China: Chinese Food & Cuisine

https://china-underground.com/2020/01/28/interview-with-cherry-li-food-photographer/

Introduction

Cherry Li is a food photographer and food video director.

In 2012, Cherry’s passion for experiencing the depth of every Chinese cuisine propelled her to move to Beijing. She divides her time between her studios in Beijing and Hong Kong and travelling through mostly Asia on assignment.

Question: How did you develop your style as a food photographer?

"Style is not something I deliberately cultivate; I trust it comes along with living life and adapting to personal and professional challenges."

Question: What are the main difficulties for a food photographer in enhancing dishes and ingredients?

Timing—cooking time, freezing time, defrosting time, resting time, the prime time for shooting is always a shorter window than for eating.

陈燕飞 Yanfei Chen

Chinese Food Photography 潮州美食摄影

Food&Drinks Photographer 美食摄影师陈燕飞 YanFei Chen

https://www.behance.net/gallery/69457709/Chinese-Food-Photography-

Chen uses cold artificial lighting in this photo series, making the texture beautifully show on the black background clearly.

Set the food on a dark background can enhance its advanced look.

I like the plate presentation in the first one, the way of arranging the food makes me feel like looking at a piece of Chinese drawing.

Thoughts:

This group of works is done by Chen, a Chinese photographer who generates Chinese culture within the food. Just like the similar effects of Shore’s photo, when the audience looks at Chen's works, they will quickly acknowledge the culture represented by food. Chen succeeds in combining culture and food perfectly, portraying Chinese culture and eating habits. This is what I want to focus on in my following project, as I hope my work can also let the audience see the cultural context behind the food.

Test photos of my project

These photos are taken at the fruit store and a restaurant. I think documentary photography is one of my ways to take my project forward. However, I think this is not the style I want to go for. I prefer doing food photography to capture the beauty of food presented in a moment, as well as the cultural contexts behind it.

I try with plating the food in IMG 7688, 7694,7705,7762 and 7763. The food in the rest of the photos is left as they are after they came out from the pot. Then I photograph them from different angles and distances to either zoom in and focus on the details of the food or zoom out to capture the whole scene of the plate.

This series gives me the idea of what I want to focus on next. I am fascinated at food, especially enjoying the aesthetic plating presentation. I think food not only shows its own characteristics and beauty, but also expresses more than that. By watching food, you can get the different cultures of places or countries, and you can even discover the thoughts of the people who made it.

I hope that the photos of my food can not only show its beauty, but telling the story, culture, and my emotions. I would like to make it more than just a still life.

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