Rituals since 1851

“Arts & Foods: Rituals since 1851”, the only thematic area that the World Expo is devoting to art and its forms – and the only one located in the centre of Milan, outside the exhibition site – was presented on April, 8th at the Palazzo della Triennale.

“Arts & Foods” – in which the display of the works has been designed by Italo Rota, with the support of Irma Boom for the graphic design – extends to cover roughly 7,000 square meters in order to present a wide variety of visual and sculptural languages, as well as objects and settings, that have revolved around food and feasting from 1851 to the present day in; and to do so in the most complete way possible. It is a panoramic view
of the way aesthetics and design are intertwined with the ritual of eating in an exhibition that is made up not just of artworks, but also of  installations and aural, olfactory and cinematic experiences, offering visitors a sample of the diverse forms of creativity that have developed across diverse cultures.

The exhibition tackles innumerable subjects related to food, its preparation, its distribution and its sharing, in both private and public spheres, from a perspective that is at once chronological and thematic. It develops these themes through the reconstruction of more than 15 settings and rooms connected with the cooking and consumption of food – from the dining room to the kitchen including bar and picnic – in which, furniture,
objects, sculptures, electric appliances, photographs, documents, film clips, TV programs, advertising posters, clothes, toys, album covers, publications on gastronomical subjects and menus tell a story of great visual impact, with over 2,000 works on loan from museums, public and private foundations, collectors and artists from all over the world. In a sensory dimension broadened by the presence of music recordings and aroma, points for the screening of excerpts from movies and TV programs, literary quotations and over 40 showcases along the route in which important collections of objects and documents are displayed, “Arts & Foods” proposes a journey in time that develops the theme of Expo Milano 2015 creatively. The project is also enriched by a number of installations and works created by contemporary artists specifically for the spaces inside and outside the Triennale.

Another strongpoint of the exhibition is the section devoted exclusively to children and teenagers, who are able to take a tour “off-limits for grownups”. The tour is designed to offer maximum safety for its visitors, allowing them to explore relationships between the arts and food through toys, anima- tions, costumes and artworks created especially for the world of childhood. It includes 93 paintings by Andy Warhol he especially
created for the very young. As part of “Arts & Foods”, Electa produces a 900 page volume in two editions (Italian and English). The aim is to propose a “recipe book” containing more than 50 essays on the topics of the exhibition and hundreds of illustrations.

until November 1, 2015
Arts & Foods
curated by Germano Celant
exhibition design Studio Italo Rota
graphic design Irma Boom
Triennale di Milano
Viale Alemagna 6, Milano