2013 - Pecha Kucha Taos: Epicurus, Photographer

Notes de l'éditeur

1. So when Matt sent out the announcements seeking submissions for this Pecha Kucha, I was totally excited about the opportunity to investigate my evolving relationship with food, through photography. I thought to myself “Yay! I can talk about something other than architecture! woo hoo!” *gives crowd knowing look* some of you know me, so… yeah, we’ll see how that goes.
2. I knew I wanted to talk about photography and food, because this has changed how I see things (no pun intended). But I think it is also important to acknowledge how I came to be a photographer. *long pause* I found out my world was going to go dark.
3. When you see this view of Taos, you see it like the photo at the left. When I look at it, it looks more like the one on the right. When I found out that I had macular degeneration, I sat in silence just staring and then, broke down. I mean, How can I be an architect if I am blind?!?!? the doctor offered that I could start taking photos and to use them like flashcards so that I would be able to remember.
4. So, I got a camera and started taking photos. Of everything. They started out pretty bad. Over time, I started developing some skills, and I’ll show you how I evolved as I also walk us through some of the things I’ve learned. Let me please note here that I’m not claiming to be a food artiste . I’m just a girl, sharing her experience with her friends.
5. So when I was preparing this talk, I was also reading this book called The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt. I was reading the section called “Finding Flow” - discussing the difference between pleasure and gratification. In this section, Haidt says *pick up book and read from it*
6. “ Pleasures should be both savored and varied. The French know how to do this: They eat fatty foods… and derive a great deal more pleasure from their food by eating it slowly and paying more attention to the food as they eat it… they savor... (they) also vary their pleasure by serving many small courses… Epicurus… endorsed the French Way when he “chooses not the greatest quantity of food but the most tasty.”
7. Epicurus founded one of the major Greek schools of philosophy over 23 centuries ago. His ideas helped lay the foundations of modern science. He believed that philosophy should be used attain a happy, tranquil self-sufficient life free from fear or pain, and surrounded by friends… he believed that one could find happiness in almost any situation and thereby enter a state "perfect mental peace" which the Greeks called ataraxia , and other cultures called Nirvana, Flow, and Enlightenment.
8. The passage in Haidt intrigued me, because as I got better at photography by applying the rules of good design (which I know through architecture). I was, inadvertently, retraining my mind to embrace some of the ideas that both Haidt, and Epicurus, were advocating.
9. I started paying attention to things like massing - an architectural concept, where shapes are piled together in a way to create more visual interest. In great food, massing can look like this amazing Benedict. *pause* I had learned to appreciate food for its beauty. And that made me want to eat beautiful things.
10. Because I started paying attention to food that was beautiful, I found that some restaurants were better for “soul food” – it’s comforting, but it’s not particularly pretty, so I hardly ever shot photos of the food at these places.
11. What I wanted to photograph was the food that was perfectly plated – well-designed... Most often, my favorite foods to shoot are in smaller portions that emphasize quality and simplicity in preparation. I learned to savor…
12. Photography made food, for me, more about taste, quality, and visual appeal. I started being willing to spend more money on great food. It changed my fiscal priorities. Good food was more valuable to me than “just food.” Food became about the experience itself. And it was an experience I was willing to sacrifice for.
13. I started wanting to know where my food was coming from. Because most of the stuff I was seeing on the grocery store shelves didn’t look, smell, or taste all that appealing, I started looking for the “perfect strawberry…” or the “perfect desert”… and I found… lots.
14. I started going to the farmer’s market… and taking my camera. I found myself photographing things that I wouldn’t eat. Eggplants, for instance. After a while, I fell so in love with the color, shape, texture… even the form of display… of the foods that I could not help but to want to try them.
15. I also would walk around and see something someone else had and I would actually get food envy! I’d go on a quest to find one to photograph, and sometimes even buy. I have NO idea what you do with green almonds but man aren’t they extraordinary?
16. I even started to watch for the way light falls across a glass of wine, or the bubbles in champagne dance to the top of the glass … Even the way the table is set matters now. Presentation has become important. I’m getting better at actually moving things around so that I get better, more telling pictures.
17. I love to capture those moments, when we prepare food for those we love, even ourselves. The presence of mind to be truly THERE when I am cooking is part of what makes me want, or not… want to cook.
18. Food has become a source of artistic inspiration for me too. This is one of my favorite artsy food shots. This was served to me at the Portland Japanese garden. The light in the room was low, but there was this tiny sliver of light shining on an ancient bench. So I moved over to it and used it to conduct a study of this delicious Umeboshi plum pastry.
19. And somehow, What started as me posting to yelp turned into my work being included on restaurant pages, tour guides, newspapers, and even restaurant reviews in high end arts and travel magazines. I’ve had shots on tv and on tv shows blogs. It’s really opened up my world.
20. The architect Palladio, who I did my thesis on… his best student was Thomas Jefferson… In preparing for this talk, I discovered that Epicurus was the inspiration for Jefferson’s “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. And I found my way to it though applying design, and intention, to food photography. So, I guess, for me, it really does always come back to architecture… Thank you!