Food Photography Has Jumped The Shark

[snousle]

When we launched Gastronomica ten years ago, we envisioned a journal that would feature not only thoughtful and provocative writing but also bold visual imagery. To commemorate Gastronomica's tenth anniversary, we present here seventeen new photographis that beautifully embody the qualities we admire. Each is witty, contemplative, unnerving, or gorgeous. Each invities us to look a little more deeply at our rich and complex relationship with food. We hope you will savor these images as we do.



Their writing over the past few years has emerged from a bog of postmodern claptrap and recent issues have been very good indeed. But their photography seems to be moving rapidly in the opposite direction. Predictable photos of dead animals, models draped in meat, couples eating cherries, and ethnic people. Plus an igloo made out of yellow ice. I have to wonder if this is an April Fools joke?

Yeah I'm having an opinionated moment here.

Comments

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

She has mushrooms growing out her nose. I thought this was about food not weird medical problems. In any case I am slightly nausous.

[fingertrouble.livejournal.com]

...or maybe an artschool intern? ;-)

Don't know the magazine, and can't see the photography on their site, but I have to say the writing they have there is wonderful, and quite moving:

http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/pdfplus/10.1525/gfc.2009.9.4.12

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

or possibly they are making fun of themselves?

[dhpbear.livejournal.com]

Maybe just a nice way of saying "These mushrooms taste like snot!"

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Maybe? I dunno, perhaps I am being uncharitable or too serious. Some of the photos strike me as boring, though perhaps they are actually masterpieces of formal composition and I'm just too dense too see that!

[sfbootdog.livejournal.com]

No, I'm sorry. A woman with mushrooms stuck in her nose is not "witty, contemplative, unnerving, or gorgeous". And all that photo invites me to do is roll my eyes. And perhaps rethink my opposition to the government licensing camera usage.

And what possible reason could there be for placing her in a car? Unless they just kept asking every single person they saw to stick mushrooms in his or her nose until they finally found someone hadn't gotten their dose of pointless post-modern whimsy for the day, and she just happened to be sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car. And judging by her expression, I'd say she JUST reached her pointless post-modern whimsy limit.

[chefxh.livejournal.com]

Good lord.