The Art of Health
Artist Christi Nielsen asked friends and family members what they thought of when they heard the word “diet” – here’s the result:
Photo by Christi Nielsen on Flickr
“Deprivation” pretty much captures it for me (as much as I hate sounding like a spoiled Westerner). Documenting everything I eat – an activity that most diets require – robs eating of its sensuous pleasure; it’s hard to savor the taste of something when I’m calculating serving size, and savoring my food is a a source of tremendous satisfaction for me. But this blog post from Art21 made me realize that perhaps keeping a food diary has some creative potential, as evidenced by the work of artist Christina Mazzalupo:
“Never has a food diary possessed the charm of a children’s coloring book and the density of a Mark Lombardi diagram. In addition to food and nutritional supplements, Mazzalupo has charted her medications, ailments, feelings, and journeys to reveal an extremely and sometimes uncomfortably personal memoir.”
(I wish I could include an image of this work, but I don’t want to do so without the artist’s permission; you can see it here.)
I love the idea of turning mundane health details into something beautiful and interesting; and, using an artistic rendering of your health history as a window into a deeper story of your life.
The author of the Art21 blog post offers this personal reflection:
“When I stumbled upon one of my old (food) journals a few years ago, I made a startling discovery: in logging teaspoons, cups, ounces and calories I had sketched a picture of my subconscious self. Bits and pieces of my life that were before unclear were laid out in my diet and notes.”
I’m reminded of legendary yogi B.K.S. Iyengar’s visit a few years ago to Washington, DC, where I lived at the time; in an interview with the Washington Post, he said, “What could be more important than health?” It’s a deceptively simple question, and in the wake of Thursday’s healthcare summit, one that’s especially resonant. What would a visual interpretation of our nation’s health reveal about our country, on a spiritual level? Not a collection of statistics, or procedural accountings, but true, visual stories?
And what would a picture of your health look like? What medium would you choose, and what style? I think mine would be a highly stylized indie film, alternating between highly saturated impressionistic shots and claustrophobic black and white…evocations of wellness and good feeling interspersed with my resistance to the “rules” about health imposed on me by others.
You?
I would choose photos, obviously, but maybe in a slideshow format with some music, and occasionally sounds associated with the activities depicted in the photos – bustle and voices and live outdoor music over photos of farmer’s market vendors and foods; my favorite cooking music Pandora stations (60s/70s folk) to images of my kitchen, my utensils, pots and pans; Zydeco and Zach’s cajun cooking; Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons with photos of local seasonal foods being prepared – and shots of the views off my balcony to show the season and weather that match the foods; interspersed, shots of me and Zach looking healthy, showing our muscles, drinking and sleeping; photos of farms, fields, cities, balcony gardens, and markets to show how it’s all connected; and a montage to angry music of shots of cheap badly prepared foods, take out cartons, fat bellies and hungry people and candy wrappers in sidewalks, fast food signs down the highway to contrast it all – then back to an empty plate and silence. Then a final shot of a handwritten note on a card that says something short and perfect.