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A Global Menu
A Global Menu
By now you have learned a bit about food’s global web. You learned that as people move around the world, they take their favorite foods and recipes with them. Often, restaurants provide these foods for people to buy which makes it easy to try new cuisines and add previously unknown foods to their diets. For this art activity, you are going to create an international menu and add images of the foods you choose to go with it.
Believe it or not, there are some artists who specialize in drawing or painting different food items. One artist that does amazing oil paintings of food is Tjalf Sparnaay. Sparnaay is a Dutch painter who is able to paint food so well that you would think it is a photograph, in art we call that hyperrealism or photorealism. Before he was a painter, he trained to be a sports educator, then he decided that art was what he liked to do best. Until he became well known enough to sell his paintings for money, he illustrated and sold postcards to earn a living. Take a look at this video to get up close and personal with some of Tjalf Sparnaay’s works, you won’t believe your eyes.
As restaurants try to promote their food offerings, menu art often plays a big role. It's far easier to decide on whether or not you want to try a new food if you can see a picture of it. Imagine that you were just hired by the chef at the newest international cuisine restaurant in town to create an authentic menu. Start off by designing the cover of the menu with the name of the restaurant and get creative! Next, design the inside of the menu. Your menu must include one appetizer, three main dishes, and three desserts from all over the world. You must include a picture of the item, the country it's from, and a description of the item. (The main dishes do not have to be from the same country as the dessert or appetizer).
Steps:
Watch the instructional video on creating your menu.
Begin by gathering up your materials and setting up your work space.
Do some brainstorming and pre-writing. What would be a good name for the restaurant? What dishes should be on the menu? If you are stuck, use the internet for ideas or talk to a friend, neighbor or family member.
Fold your large sheet of paper in half, like a book. Begin designing the front of the menu with the name of the restaurant and an image or logo to go with it.
Next, open up the menu and begin adding in the appetizer, main dishes and desserts. Be sure to leave space for the art, country and description of each.
Design your menu using the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. For this project, consider focusing on the elements of line and color and the principle of pattern (repetition). There is more information on these design concepts in the instructional video.
When you are finished, show your completed menu to a friend or a family member. Point out the important design elements you used and why you made your choices. Seek input from your audience, ask them if they would want to eat at your restaurant after viewing the menu, what food choices they would make and why.
Last, complete your Artist’s Statement. You can use this form, you can write about your work on your own or you can just tell someone. Be sure to discuss the process of your artwork, how you created it, explain the artistic choices you made, share one thing you love about your piece and one thing you would change if you could.
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