FOOD was an artist-run restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan, New York. FOOD was founded by artists Carol Goodden, and Gordon Matta-Clark. FOOD was considered one of the first important restaurants in SoHo.[1] Other individuals who were originally involved with the formation of FOOD included Suzanne Harris and Rachel Lew.[2] FOOD was a place where artists in SoHo could find work compatible with their show schedule, especially artist personnel Tina Girouard, Robert Kushner, Robert Prado, and those who were involved in art groups such as Mabou Mines, Trisha Brown Dance Co., Philip Glass Ensemble, Avalanche magazine and the Anarchitecture group. It was a place where artists could meet and enjoy food together.[2] and discuss ideas. FOOD was considered to be both a business and an artistic "intervention in an urban setting."[2] It has also been called a "landmark that still resonates in the history and mythology of SoHo in the 1970s."[3] Contact for accurate information Caroline McCoy neé Carol Goodden on Facebook. Lives in Alto, New Mexico.
Before they founded FOOD, Goodden and Matta-Clark were already cooking for artists in New York and were already known for throwing dinner parties for friends, mainly hosted at their loft.[4] In 1971, they roasted an entire pig under the Brooklyn Bridge.[5] The roast was known as the Brooklyn Bridge Event.[4] The Event was accompanied by outdoor sculpture and celebrated the opening of the Alternative Gallery Space on Greene Street.[6] The sculptures at the pig roast had been curated by Alanna Heiss of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA.)[6] Music for the roast was done by Dickie Landry and the Philip Glass Ensemble.[6]
Matta-Clark suggested to Goodden the idea for a restaurant, which she agreed to saying only if he would do it with her.[6] She chose a location in SoHo on the corner of Prince and Wooster streets.[7] There was a struggling restaurant there called Comidas Criollas and Goodden negotiated the lease from them.[6] At that time, SoHo was considered a cultural desert,[8] with struggling businesses.[9] |url=http://www.joaap.org/6/lovetowe/schaafsma.html |title=Other Options: A Closer Look at FOOD |last=Schaafsma |first=Ben |date=November 2008 |journal=Journal of Aesthetics and Protest |access-date = June 3, 2015 |issue=6}}</ref> Goodden and Matta-Clark wanted to create a space where they could help their friends find jobs while giving people a place to eat in what known as SoHo.[10] Goodden, Matta-Clark, Girouard and several of the Philip Glass Ensemble, as well as Manfred Hecht, began to renovate the place.[11] FOOD opened in October 1971 at 127 Prince Street.[12] During the renovations, Matta-Clark was inspired to do the second of his original "cutting" art works.[2]
FOOD was intended to be a simple project designed to bring the artistic community together.[12] Artists were invited to be guest chefs, as well as working at the restaurant on a regular basis.[11] There was no ordering of many different dishes at FOOD, diners ate what was offered on that day.[13] The menu was simple and affordable.[14] Meals included items like raw mackerel in wasabi sauce, Creole-style stuffed tongue and anchovy onion pie.[4] FOOD was considered to be an "active and dynamic site" which served nearly one hundred people daily in 1972.[2]
In 1972 Matta-Clark created a 43-minute documentary of the restaurant.[15] He was often seen as the center of the energy surrounding FOOD restaurant.[16]
FOOD only lasted about three years with the original founders.[17] After Matta-Clark needed to put his primary energy into his work, Goodden was left to carry on mostly on her own.[14] Eventually, the restaurant was handed over to new operators who ran FOOD until the 1980s.[18] However, FOOD did not retain its artistic roots under the new management.[14]
Legacy
FOOD was said to inspire others who create food art, or work in the field of relational art."[17] Many artists and performers, such as Hisahika Takahashi, Brad Davis, Randall Arabie, Barbara Dilley Lloyd, Gordon Matta-Clark himself, created meals at FOOD.[17] The cooking and the meals themselves were a kind of a performance art,[1] as Carol Goodden wanted the preparation of the meals to be in the open in front of the guests.[5] Matta-Clark developed a Guest Chef meal that he based on bones called Matta-Bones[19] which cost $4.[17] After the meal, the bones were used to create necklaces for the diner to wear their dinner home.[10]Matta-Bones once served over 100 people and after they ate, Richard Peck scrubbed the bones clean in the kitchen after which Hisachika Takahashi, an assistant to Rauschenberg and a painter and sculptor, drilled holes in the bones so that they could be strung onto rope.[20] Another unusual meal was made of living brine shrimp swimming in egg whites[14] called Alive.[19] Perhaps the most unusual dinner was never realized: Mark di Suvero wished to serve meals through the windows of the restaurant using a crane and directing diners to eat with tools such as screwdrivers and hammers.[21]
FOOD was noted for using fresh and seasonal foods, which was a "vaguely countercultural" idea for the time.[11] FOOD was one of the first New York restaurants to serve sushi[8] which had been suggested by Takahashi.[11] Another unusual feature of FOOD was that it was one of the first places to serve vegetarian meals.[8] FOOD also "championed" the use of the open kitchen which is now seen in many modern restaurants.[22]
Other famous artists who were frequently seen at FOOD included the members of Mabou Mines, the Philip Glass group and dancers of Grand Union.[16] Filmmaker artist musician Vincent Gallo stated FOOD was the first place in New York City he ate at.
FOOD 1971/2013
The Frieze Art Fair recognized the contributions of FOOD to the artistic community in 2013 by inviting several chefs from the original FOOD to participate at the fair.[5] Goodden and Girouard both contributed to the tribute of FOOD with Goodden preparing her famous soups and Girouard paying homage to the pig roast under the Brooklyn Bridge.[22] FOOD 1971/2013 was created by curator, Cecilia Alemani and conceived of as a special project for the fair.[21]
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