Amuse-bouche: The Taste of Art

Accounting for taste: writers and artists discuss food in art

How do we describe taste, among all of our senses? And how are perceptions of taste created in the first place? Can taste be manipulated? What role does the experience of taste play in social interaction and as artistic material?

This unusual volume brings together an eclectic mix of artists and academics such as Daniel Spoerri, Charles Spence and Paul Stoller to explore the many fields of human activity affected by taste--from the points of view of art and cultural history, as well as psychology, linguistics and biochemistry. Topics as diverse as Frans Snijder's market scenes, the tastes of immigrant communities and taste in semantics offer insight into the ties between mind and stomach. Essayists include: Antje Baecker, Ralf Beil, Marisa Benjamim, Felix Broecker, Elisabeth Bronfen, Karin Leonhard, Thomas Macho, Wolfgang Meyerhof, Annja Müller-Alsbach, Jeannette Nuessli Guth, Maren Runte, Charles Spence, Daniel Spoerri, Paul Stoller, Roland Wetzel and Stefan Wiesner.