Yours in Food, John Baldessari: with meditations on eating by Paul Auster, David Byrne, Dave Eggers, David Gilbert, Tim Griffin, Andy Grundberg, John ... O'Brien, Francine Prose, and Peter Schjeldah [Hardcover]

John Baldessari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2004

In John Baldessari's new book, Yours in Food, the founding member of the conceptual art movement explores America at the table, savoring the nuances of breaking bread in carefully composed vignettes culled appropriated video and film.
Reflections on food and eating specially commissioned from a smorgasbord of contemporary writers on culture and the arts, from novelist David Eggers to musician David Byrne, offer up the perfect accompaniment to Baldessari's work. Paired with his images, these humorous, insightful, and, in some cases, bizarre meditations investigate one of the most fundamental and telling of all human experiences.
A visual and intellectual feast, Yours in Food is sure to entertain and delight readers of fiction, art history, and cultural criticism and all lovers of food.
A Blind Spot Book published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conceptual artist Baldessari’s latest book (after The Metaphor Problem Again) looks a bit like a high-end impulse buy: every few pages there are manipulated photos of food and eaters; in between one can find short essays and stories by famous folks. The broad theme of food holds the whole party together, allowing Paul Auster’s memories of poverty in his young adulthood (excerpted from The Red Notebook) to rub shoulders with musician David Byrne’s intriguing but abruptly curtailed thoughts on "knifeless eating" and writer John Haskell’s short story "Toast." Art critic Peter Schjeldahl contributes a meandering essay on "taste" and Glenn O’Brien tosses in memories of his halcyon days in Andy Warhol’s New York, offering such insights as "Madonna had funny ideas about wine" and "when Max’s Kansas City closed... the abstract painters all had tabs in the five figures... The figurative painters were much more modest in their spending." The best of the group may be David Gilbert’s scathing satire "How to Cook a Turkey," in which a mother gives cooking instructions to her family and, in the process, reveals all her resentments and fears. Baldessari’s photographs, many of which seem to be film stills, are edited and cropped so as to obscure the subjects’ faces and shift the focus to the ritual of eating. This unusual perspective adds to the slightly menacing quality of the book, which should appeal to the artist’s fans but may leave other readers more uneasy than sated. Photos.
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Review

Know someone who likes art as much as food? [Yours in Food] is the perfect gift of the season. -- Metropolitan Home Nov/Dec 2004

Quirky and offbeat, each essay is a surprise, and some are a revelation. -- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, November 14, 2004

The tone is light and amusing while frequently thought provoking. -- Afterimage, Sep-Oct 2005

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (September 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568984952
• ISBN-13: 978-1568984957
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book. It's an artful treasure., May 16, 2010

By 

Netphemera (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yours in Food, John Baldessari: with meditations on eating by Paul Auster, David Byrne, Dave Eggers, David Gilbert, Tim Griffin, Andy Grundberg, John ... O'Brien, Francine Prose, and Peter Schjeldah (Hardcover)

This is a truly fabulous book and it's a steal at $6. The book is well-crafted and Baldessari's photos look perfect on the pages. The essays truly form a whole, as the rhythm of the book unfolds. I've been wishing for a book like this for ages. A book that truly fuses art with food. This book is a must have for any reader of the magazine Gastronomy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written and fun!, February 25, 2010

By 

Bagus P. Himawan "Iwan Bagus" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yours in Food, John Baldessari: with meditations on eating by Paul Auster, David Byrne, Dave Eggers, David Gilbert, Tim Griffin, Andy Grundberg, John ... O'Brien, Francine Prose, and Peter Schjeldah (Hardcover)

I am a photographer [...] and also teach photography full time. In my commercial photography class, I asked my students to read some of the essays before they shoot food photography as part of their assignments. We had class discussion about the essays and it was great. We love it! Very smart, fun, and definitely highly recommended.