{"id":117,"date":"2013-07-08T12:03:46","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T17:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/openproduce.org\/blog\/?p=117"},"modified":"2013-07-08T12:03:46","modified_gmt":"2013-07-08T17:03:46","slug":"reflections-on-the-fanta-celah-art-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/2013\/07\/08\/reflections-on-the-fanta-celah-art-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Fanta Celah art opening"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"phot1.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Last Monday night, Open Produce hosted our first art opening, with painter
\nand photographer Fanta Celah. We invited folks to come into the store to
\nsee the artwork, eat free food, and buy some of either to enjoy later. For
\nsome reason, the combination worked. Friends of the store, friends of the
\nartist, and new faces came in for both art and food.<\/p>\n

\"phot4.jpg\"<\/p>\n

It’s a natural connection, and it’s easy. Art and food come inside of us,
\nenriching permanently and requiring nothing but a sense of taste. And when
\nthey’re good to us, it’s because of our own aesthetic and physical needs.
\nIt’s because their chemistry reflects and compliments our history. This
\nmakes it sort of secret. When we’re eating and seeing, nobody else knows
\nwhat we’re feeling. The spice, the sugar high, and the memories exist only
\nfor us. We know that other people share cultural histories and need the
\nsame nutrients, and yet personal tastes hold sway more in food and art than
\nany other areas of life. When we share these things, we respect one
\nanother’s personality while exalting in similarities. It is our pleasure to
\nbe able to share them both now in our store.<\/p>\n

\"phot3.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Fanta Celah’s work lends itself to the atmosphere of Open Produce. Her
\nglossy textures and vibrant street scenes seem at home above a pile of
\nfresh mustard greens. Exploring *Mothers of Creation: Les Nubians*, I want
\nto sit down in a huge basket of plums and eat my fill. And the grocery
\nstore lends itself to her. The artist has curated a photography selection
\nfrom her travels in Egypt, Ethiopia, and India, that almost requires a
\nreal-life setting. The images would be unsettling blips of action in a
\ntraditional gallery, but here they draw direct connections between people’s
\nlives. I’m in tune with the people in the photos, moving at the same pace.
\nAnd as Fanta Celah brings out the joy in the common scenes she photographs,
\nI feel joy in grocery shopping. I think this feeling already existed in
\nOpen Produce, but now it is made explicit and global.<\/p>\n

\"phot2.jpg\"<\/p>\n

It is strange to explore art and food publicly; we gain an awareness of
\nindividuality and commonality through a complex personal experience. Fanta
\nCelah’s work keenly reflects our connectivity, while giving richly to each
\nunique visitor.<\/p>\n

\"fanta.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Written by OP clerk Sean Nicholson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Last Monday night, Open Produce hosted our first art opening, with painter
\nand photographer Fanta Celah. We invited folks to come into the store to
\nsee the artwork, eat free food, and buy some of either to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openproduce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}