Wednesday 6 April 2011

Why Cake?

Ah, the burning question...why the obsession with cake? Where do I begin?....

Tactile. Icing. The materiality of cakes suits my aesthetic/artistic sensibility. the physicality of them. the carving, sculpting of the cake, the application of icing. The process of making a cake, from start to finish. The mixing of materials- flour, eggs, water. The visionary side- designing the cake- seeing my fantasy cake realised. Then, the destruction. Its tore down. Eaten. It is literally consumed. Like other art works, it can't be bought or sold. All that lasts is photos and memories of the experience of eating it. The artist has to start fresh and make a new cake. 

Memories of childhood. Family get togethers- banquets. Northern Ireland. My granny making me and my cousin's birthday cakes. Each year, more ambitous.

Finally, the significance of cakes. cultural symbolism. Indulgence, maternity, escapism, frivolity. The cake as a concept- an idea.

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