Combining FOOD with ART...

[Enchanted]

...or vice versa?

We Bring You Painted Tortillas!

Why the tortilla, one could ask. Why not the ceiling of, say, a chapel in the Vatican? “Necessity is the mother of invention,” Bravo explains. “Mexicans, we Latinos, we have a history of being a resourceful people. We’ll paint on tin, on walls, on cars, on anything.” (He is a former art director for Lowrider Magazine.) One has the feeling that if you sat still long enough on Bravo’s comfy couch at his tidy little bungalow in Highland Park, he might paint on you, too.

[objectivistartist]

Sorry charlie - but that is just gimmickry........
[two thumbs down]

[Diane Cutter]

Too funny! And I thought I'd seen everything. I don't think his art would hold up here. It would mold within no time at all... Frankly I'll take my tortillas plain, thank you very much!

Diane

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Diane Cutter

Too funny! And I thought I'd seen everything. I don't think his art would hold up here. It would mold within no time at all... Frankly I'll take my tortillas plain, thank you very much!

Diane

I posted this in another forum where Margaret wondered about the longevity too. There is a brief description of how this artist prepares the tortillas for painting, but I doubt that his method would prevent the mold or mildew.

I mentioned in the other forum that this reminds me of gourd art, which has been the rage among hobbyists here where I live. So Diane, how does gourd art hold up in your climate? I'm guessing it would have the same problems?

[Barbara Art]

I think it's a gimmick, too, but I also think it's hilarious. I come from a long line of people who play with their food. My sister once made me a great sculpture, a beautifully crafted face made of varnished bread dough surrounded by a wreath of feathers. Heat and humidity softened it up and mice ate it. While it was hanging on the wall. A sort of cross-species collaboration. The real key with the tortilla work is (IMO) that the artist makes it to order, depending on the venue. More of a power-point presentation than art. Still fun.
Barbara

[objectivistartist]

Bread sculpture is different - as a baker, used to make holiday decorations with such, dry it, acrylic coat it even - and varied the coloring such as it was by the amount of baking of the parts...... but it never was considered as anything other than a short-termed deal.....
[hmmmmm - wonder if should try for a cactus sculpture?????? having a mouse in it would make a defining touch ]

[sassybird]

I agree it is fun, but I think that a gimmick like this will not be long lived when the tortilla starts decomposing. Barbara made a good point about the mice. It is amazing what those little critters will eat though to get to the good stuff. His paintings are great, but I would not spend $3,200 on one not even $320 given what the base is.

[Diane Cutter]

Originally Posted by objectivistartist

Bread sculpture is different - as a baker, used to make holiday decorations ...

Gosh, you bring back fond memories. A long time ago (and many galaxies away), my Grandparents would decorate their huge Christmas tree with real tinsel, glass balls, and homemade cookies. Of course, my Grandmother Cutter was known for her horrid cooking. My father remembered those very same cookies on the tree when he was a wee lad... he was born in 1924. We kids had the firm belief that they were poisonous. I'm not sure which adult misled us to avoid half eaten ancient cookies...

Diane

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Diane Cutter

Of course, my Grandmother Cutter was known for her horrid cooking.

Diane

I trust she wasn't nick-named "Cookie!"

My grandmother was "old country German" on my mom's side and she made some sort of Xmas cookie that was rock-hard and strongly flavored with anise. I'll bet if I had one of those today it would still be as inedible as I found them to be as a kid, but so well preserved that it would still look like the day it came from the oven.

I think it's a gimmick, too, but I also think it's hilarious.

Well, at least YOU see the humor in it. As for it being a gimmick, when I stop to think about it, ALL art is a gimmick in one way or another. A photoreal portrait painting of a real person, for instance, is a gimmick - albeit a very different gimmick from something that breaks the mold, so to speak.

[Barbara Art]

Right -I guess I wouldn't think it was so funny if mice ate MY $3,000 tortilla!
Barbara

[objectivistartist]

But then, I wouldn't spend $3000 on ANY tortilla.....