Fictional Food Pieces
Joshua Budich - Jules Winnfield
My wife and I have been cooking together for more than 20 years. “What’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner?” is the most often asked question in our household. Food builds a framework for our daily routines, and it’s a subject that has come to dictate much of our life. We digest much in the way of food-based media; books, web, television shows, and when given the opportunity to host our friends and family for a raucous feast of grilled meats, stinky cheeses, vegetables from our garden, rich wines, smoky bourbons... we never hesitate to jump at the chance. Needless to say, when Gallery1988 gave me a shot at a solo show, the natural choice was Food. So, I celebrated many of my favorite subjects and characters from pop culture alongside the tasty foods that accompanied them.
One subject in particular, that has permeated my Fictional Food series is the work of Quentin Tarantino, and specifically Pulp Fiction (1994). Intentional or not, Tarantino has quite a few scenes in the film with some very memorable food. The food in these scenes was not just being ingested, but became its own character, defining the scene in which the characters were located, and creating many of the most memorable bits of dialogue. QT is a master of stylized discourse between his characters. Long, verbose monologues define the mood for the scene, and create a unique Tarantino-esque coolness that the audience can tangibly feel. For my Pulp Fiction food pieces, I wanted to capture that quality. In a way, freeze it in time, and save it as a printed piece. My hope is that fans of the film can look at my work, replay the scene in their own heads, and relive their experience with QT’s film over and over again.
Pulp Fiction is not singular in its rich trove of food-related reference material. Tarantino’s films have a rich tradition of putting character with food that I would love to explore further. For now though, I’ll keep mum about any forthcoming Fictional Food pieces. Can’t spoil the fun, right?
Joshua Budich - Mia Wallace
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