Appetizing art: from chocolate syrup to corn chips, food is being used as an artistic material by a growing number of contemporary artists - Food Art - Brief Article

Art Business News, May, 2002 by Vanessa Silberman

Conservation Issues

While collectors are buying this type of art, Maka said some may hesitate to purchase the actual food art because of conservation issues. "I think it can be much harder to sell this kind of work to collectors, because the collector always knows the work will change, decay and may be gone after a while," she said. "It depends on the collector. Those who collect as an investment probably wouldn't buy it, while those who are art lovers and are interested in a specific kind of art would."

"People ask all the time about the conservation of these pieces, and I can't say that I know what will happen in 50 years," said Meltzer. "There has been a lot of art made over time with candy. If you were to open the packages of Albers' work, I'm sure you would find that the chocolate had turned white. But as long as they are not exposed to elements, like extreme heat, moisture, or insects, there is not all that much reason for them to change ... We typically case them in Plexi now to preserve them, and the kinds of collectors who are attracted to this work understand the conservation issues of art."

According to Kwon, Roth's work usually keeps very well because it is housed in air-tight frames or boxes. "As long as humidity and temperature are controlled and his work doesn't shift too much, there isn't much of a problem," she said.

Many artists have figured out a way to stabilize their work, and museums are responding. New York's MoMA and Washington D.C's Hirshhorn Museum each own a Janine Antoni sculpture made of chocolate, for example, while the Denver Art Museum and Smith College each own an actual Skoglund installation. Maka said she believes museums will continue adding food art pieces into their permanent collections. "It is more and more being regarded as an important part of art history of the last century," she concluded.