During our class trip to the Whitney Museum of American Art my favorite piece was a 3D video art installation entitled  The Flavor Genome. It runs for 22 minutes in a black box space and provides comfortable, plush seating. Some audience members sat upright others lied down. I found that while lying down I was able to deeply feel the reverberation of the bass in that was incorporated into the music of the piece.The music used was current and electronic. I found this refreshing, and I love when a piece of art can reflect back our present reality. This physical sensation was one of my favorite parts of this piece. The story of the film follows a “flavor chemist” on a  trip through the Amazon, where she narrates and confronts her fascination and anxiety around the ideas of chemical and genetic engineering and biotechnology. This film was gorgeously shot, but the 3D elements did not add much to the experience overall, but helped to add a futuristic feeling, making the artificial world in front of the screen seem as if I could one day be a reality.This piece had a high production value and it paid off, the cinematography was sharp and clean, and so was the editing. The luxe quality seemed ironic given that so much of the piece was a critique of global consumerism.

The meticulous construction and attention to detail of each scene reminded me of the Netflix show Chef’s Table .  The lushness of the Amazon added a certain aesthetic, or shall I say, flavor, that emphasized color and texture.The imagery of this piece was consistently striking, and stayed with me after it ended. The scene of acrylic pink Chanel nails next to a squid head for example, seemed to implant itself in my mind. One of the central themes confronted was the idea of artificiality versus reality and where we draw the line between the two in a world that is increasingly contrived. Everything from our words, foods, and lifestyles have become so hybridized and manipulated that it makes it seem as if nothing is truly real.

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