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Food for thought at new Milan art exhibition

Source: Agencies | April 14, 2015, Tuesday | Online Edition

Program Code: 0909346150405004 | Source: CNTV

A new unique exhibition in Milan is giving visitors plenty of food for thought. From 19th century French painters to Andy Warhol's famous soup cans, 'Arts & Foods - Rituals since 1851' explores the human relationship with all things edible.

It looks good enough to eat, and that's because in some cases it is.

In the new 'Arts & Food' exhibition at Milan's Triennale museum, they're putting 150 years' worth of food habits on the menu. Munch, nosh, nibble or chomp. However you say it, we all do it.

Food is being used not to stave off hunger, but to stir our curiosity through a mix of multimedia.

"In this room we go from the smell of coffee to that of chocolate and bread. These are the materials of the artwork, so the exhibit involves not just sight, but all five senses," said Italo Rota, exhibition architect.

"And this helps visitors memorize complex issues that the exhibit illustrates, anorexia, bulimia, famine, and also the great pleasure of a colourful cake, which catches the eye first."

Exploring the exhibition's fifteen rooms - covering a total of 7,000 square metres - is like taking a journey through time.

The exhibition has particular relevance opening just weeks before the food-centric Expo Milan 2015 in the north Italian city. The theme of this year's expo is 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life'.

"The goal of the exhibit is to bring the public closer to the complexity of history from 1851, the year of the first world EXPO in London, to today's EXPO 2015, where the theme of food is explored through all possible languages: photography, cinema, literature, paintings, sculptures, designs, so that the public may understand the full picture of the intellectual work that evolves around food," exhibiton curator Germano Celant said.

In one corner of the exhibtion, visitors are stepping back into the 19th century. Fast forward one hundred years and food is found in cans, a result of the post-war industrial boom of the 1950s and 60s.

Old-fashioned Coca-Cola dispensers and art installations critiquing mass consumption provide a colourful commentary on the globalisation of food and eating habits.

"Nutrition is a hot topic, from how we produce food to how we consume it. The goal is to create fans of the exhibit and fans of the themes. It's also a way of approaching our own life, which is so rich when it comes to food," said Italo Rota.

'Arts & Foods. Rituals since 1851' runs till November 1st, 2015.

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