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Art, Culture, &
Cuisine by Phyllis Pray Bober explores the contrast between
the cultures of East and West. In particular she talks of Chinese and
French cuisine in relation to art.
It had not occurred to me that there is an infinite number ways to
use and observe food, in relation to art and literature. Personally I
have continued to overlook the fact that a particular … banana,
sandwich, pot-roast, etc. may be used by a writer or artist, for a
specific - intended purpose. Moreover, the human necessity to require
food has caused this relationship to transcend cultures. We all need
food to survive, and it is intriguing how we humans have created
thousands of flavors of food from differing ethnic areas. These tastes
can be influenced by religion, environment, and many other factors that
develop within a community.
No where more aparent of this, Bober explores the contrast between
the cultures of East and West. In particular she talks of Chinese and
French cuisine in relation to art. Sometimes the value of a particular
edible item may be profound within one population, however another
group may lack knowledge of the very same item. For example; rice, a
staple of Asian countries, might be more likely to be found on a
Chinese painters canvas versus an artist from France who might use
another form of strach that has become common in their area. She gives
another example of the contrast by discussing the differences between
the menus of these very same cultures; siting the French menu to have a
"sense of structure, of classical order, in the presentation of a
formal French meal. Whereas "a Chinese menu ... unlfold(s) melodically
with an ebb and flow like landscape painting on a horizontal
scroll."(p. 6) Bober expands on this idea a little when she discusses
the differences in "texture," and "color," on any given dish, and tries
to deduce if this supports the idea that "we are, indeed, what we
eat."(p. 1)
Being that this piece, is in itself, is an introduction; it babbled
on tangents that seemed possible of filling an entire novel. However,
the reading did continue to evoke pockets of interest in the area of
food application. When I sit down for a Chinese meal, it will now be
very aparent to me that there "fish heads, duck feet, ... jellyfish,
(and) tree fungus,"(p.6) on the menu, whereas if I would have gone to
any French or european restaurant, I will not find any food of that
nature with which to choose.
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