Curatorial Projects > Califas (2013)

Andrea Blum
SFMOMA Sculpture Garden (key), 2013
Digital C-print
In collaboration with UAV pilot/photographer Kenny Blum

1) Michelle Pusateri, Nana Joes Granola, San Francisco. Handmade granola using farm-direct organic ingredients.

2) Lisa Mishima, Randall Stowell & Yvonne Mouser, Thought For Food, San Francisco. A food+art collective that approaches food, eating, and culinary culture conceptually and visually. “We are interested in exploring and challenging conventions of how people think about, experience and visualize food.”

3) Gail and Kevin Kirst, Chili Palace, San Francisco. Serving up Chili Verde for 20 years.

4) Rosa Rodriguez and her daughter, Sweets Collection, San Francisco. Rodriguez makes gelatin confections that combine food, art, and design. Mexican traditions in gelatin desserts are the foundation of the inspiration. La Cocina, a San Francisco-based kitchen incubator, helped launch the business.

5) Rose Calucchia and Hannah Pederson, Sweet Cheeks, Santa Cruz, a gluten-free bakery.

6) Connie Green, Wine Forest, Napa. Head Huntress and owner of Wine Forest Wild Foods, Green is a purveyor of wild mushrooms and wild foods in America. She is an internationally recognized pioneer and authority on foraging and co-author of the awarding winning cookbook, The Wild Table.

7) Songeeta Palchaudhuri, Inventive food events.

8) Heather Wagner, Homegrown Specialties Marketplace.

9) Tabitha Stroup, Friend in Cheeses, Santa Cruz. Stroup makes jams, jellies, and preserves and conserves.

10) Cristina Arantes, Kika's Treats, San Francisco. Chocolate-covered confections. La Cocina, a San Francisco-based kitchen incubator, helped launch the business.

11) Robin Kota, Koda Farms, South Dos Palos. The only heirloom rice in California and the oldest, continuously family-owned and operated rice farm and mill in California.

12) Shawn Williams, Feve, San Francisco. Artisan, award-winning hand crafted chocolatier.

13) Tomm Johnson, Culinary Secrets, Tracy. Finishing salts.

14) Jon Lagardere, Private Chef, San Francisco.

15) Eden Israel, Voss Gardens, Boulder Creek. Artisan salads.

16) Marianne Weiner, Anna Daughters Bread, Sausalito. Rye breads.

My American Pantry (MAP) is a photographic atlas celebrating and interpreting the micro-food and drink craft culture emerging in the United States. The photo project is traveling state by state documenting craftspeople, farmers, and their stories as well as the culinary ethos that defines particular geographical areas—sometimes drawing on traditions, family ties, or the affordances of climate and terroir (the taste of place) and other times emerging from new social trends and innovation. There is a zeitgeist of creativity around American food and MAP is out to document and share it. The craftspeople and farmers in these photographs are part of entrepreneurial phenomena that is blossoming in California and characterizes the intricate layers that define geographic expressions of American food.

The MAP project started in January 2013 in Northern California when we took the first aerial images of a group of artisans using a remote control camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle. These photos capture compositions of Californians’ from different backgrounds and ethnicities that create an astounding array of artisan food and drink. The project is now going national, traveling around the country with the intention of collecting images and stories from every state and creating a complete map and tapestry of American food and drink culture. MAP is not just about collecting images but also about collecting stories from small corners of the country and creating social connections to help these small businesses thrive in the marketplace. The map created will become interactive for viewers to discover and taste the food and drink being crafted around the country and help define an emerging American pantry specific to its geography.” – Andrea Blum

Califas

October 2 – December 21, 2013
Intersection for the Arts
San Francisco, CA