New Criticals


Therefore, what may be a more complete diet of fruits and vegetables with minimum animal protein can be read as a poor people's diet, framed by the picture of rural peasants. Or a typical western diet of processed foods, rich in sugars and fats and with plenty of animal proteins can be read as a wealthy diet, despite the health risks that such a diet may pose. When food items are presented along side a suburban African American family, the reading is open to racial readings and stereotypes about lifestyles.

Still, the images are powerful and end up achieving a sense of global consumption patterns that feels familiar. The sense of earth-citizens overtakes the viewer and gives opportunity to establish even for a moment a connection to other human eaters, who at the end of the day are also eating just like “us.”

The reason for this comforting feeling is that perhaps cooking is today the most human activity. So the simple act of photographing families and their food conveys a sense of unity between all of us who eat and cook.