Exploring The Nexus Of Food And Art [Interview]

PSFK recently had the chance to visit Something I Ate, a collaborative project between Kat Popiel—founder of the online food magazine On Plate, Still Hungry—and Sam Kim of SkimKim Foods. Prior to the event, artists documented a week of personal eating habits which provided both a basis for the food served at the event and the creative work that they unveiled. Each artist showcased a piece inspired by their documented eating habits using whichever media they preferred. We caught up with co-founders Kat Popiel and Sam Kim on the inspiration behind the project.

Please tell us a little about the project.

Kat Popiel (KP)- Sam Kim and I have known each other for a while in and out of the food circles and I always knew we needed to collaborate in some way. I will soon be launching On Plate, Still Hungry, an online magazine I’ve created with Terence Teh that showcases creatives within the context of food, drink and travel. I wanted to find an opportunity to start seeding the concept and brand to the New York community online and offline as a pre-cursor to going live. On Plate is about the everyday creative and how their relationship with food works to develop their craft. This notion of ‘the foodie’ has become over-used and in my experience in New York tends to be reserved for those that are part of the DIY grassroots brand or the elite. Creating a live event such as Something I Ate was actually a proof of concept experimentation for On Plate, a physical demonstration that the idea was necessary and had an audience. We also wanted this to be an unusual playground for artists to explore their creativity outside their usual mediums. As ‘grown up’ creatives we rarely find time to make that film, doodle those drawings or write that poem unless it adheres to our professional lives. Asking creatives to become involved in Something I Ate hopefully allows them to use the tool of their daily eating lives to explore their other hidden talents. Sam and I come from similar creative circles — all of our friends are designers or DJs or makers of some kinds. I’ve always been a fan of her Kimchee butter and Shepherds Pie so it felt like a natural fit to collaborate with someone who shared a similar perspective on the relationship between creativity and food culture.
Sam Kim (SK): Kat and I were having coffee one day and just decided, let’s do something BIG. I have artist parents and have been a creative my whole life so I wanted to showcase the creativity that is inherent in great cooking.

Can you share some of the inspiration behind the work?

KP-Each season the one constant of the project is the brief we provide the artists with. The curated artists, venue, DJ and menu change accordingly. At the center of the activity is primarily the eating diaries of each artist and what their final piece will be — the beauty of the project is that because this informs the menu and much of the food presentation, there are many surprises!

SK-I work very closely with the artists, going over everything they ate, how they felt about it. I want the artist to feel like the food reflects them and their experience. It’s funny because until you write it all down, or take pictures, you really aren’t very conscious of the food you eat. I’m semi-obsessed about it but I know I’m not normal. When I finally talk to an artist, there’s always a “huh” moment for them. Wow, I drink so much coffee, or I eat a lot of Craisins! My favorite part is when I say “Did you realize you did this?” and even after going over 7 days of documenting everything they put in their bodies, they’re always surprised at a new insight. For instance, back in Spring, one of our artists was eating everything that he could hold in his hands– banh mi, tacos, burritos, empanadas, heros. He hadn’t even noticed! We discussed why, turns out he had been super busy and strapped for cash. Both lend to handfood so I made these Cumin Carnitas Tacos w/ Sour Orange Leeks, Mexican Crema, Annato Shredded Brussel Sprouts, & Pickled Black Radish. An artist this season was popping Craisins, or dried cranberries, like an addict and she showed me about 6 tweets over the past month of her mentioning them. It was hysterical so I had to incorporate cranberries plus, this was the Fall show so it was perfect timing. We did Turkey Leg Pretzel Bread Sandwiches w/ Gravy and Cranberry Whole Grain Mustard. It was a favorite of the night, so I heard.

What are some of the highlights? What have been its challenges?

KP – The menu is always a highlight! Sam and I started this adventure together to not only raise awareness of our own projects but to collaboratively celebrate food in a creative way in New York. We are very transparent that we are not art curators but hosting a playful exercise in how food and creativity intersect. Most of all, Something I Ate is about people and it is always a big thrill to see a room full of strangers making conversation over delicious food. Ticket sales can always be challenging! New York has a brimming events calendar so from a practical point of view, finding the balance between press, promotions and selling tickets can be overwhelming. New Yorkers can be fickle but luckily they always show up to the party, even if fashionably late!
SK-The highlights have definitely been the food. But, we also always have an amazing bar! We work with progressive brands such as Hendricks, Root, and Kanon Vodka. We started out working with up to 10 artists. We’ve found that less is more. I get to really dig in with a handful of artists. I like getting up close and personal with strangers or acquaintances – it catches them off-guard. The artists are usually very open to me and it feels like I’ve know them for years. Others are tight as a clam and I end up accosting their people for information. It’s a very enlightening process either way and I feel lucky to have access to such talented and successful creatives. Working with Kat and our support team has been amazing. It’s nice to have people you can count on. I’ve been running SkimKim for 6 years and finding a cohesive team is a hard thing to nail down. When you get it, you do anything and everything to keep it.

What has been the general reaction?

KP-Sometimes I wish we could do this every month! The last three events have been packed with our friends, of course, but we’re always surprised by how many people show up just because they found the idea fun and interesting. At the end of the day, this is where the real measure of success is for us — we want to build a community of individuals who can proudly claim they met at one of our events and are now building space ships together (or something equally ridiculous)!

SK-Everyone seems really excited about where we will go with this concept. Every event feels like prom. We transform spaces and energies into something so warm and welcoming (and nerve wrecking, to be honest, but that’s because it’s our baby!) It really does feel like we have something special with Something I Ate. Kat and I are going to start wearing matching corsages. Maybe I’ll wear a boutenir…matching, of course.

How do you see this project evolving in the future?

KP-Year 2 for us is to take the concept abroad to a city where we have strong affiliations and a community. We are excited at the prospect of working with local curators, food and drink brands, DJs and most especially, to see how different creatives eat and drink in cities around the world. I’d like to think we’re food anthropologists headed out to the field to do some practical research! We’ve so far documented each event with photos and video and I would love for all that content to one day culminate into a documentary film about global creatives and food behavior.

SK-We are looking to global proportions. I’d like to work with different chefs at some point. The execution is not set in stone so we are free to jiggle and move in any way we want. We have London and Art Basel in our sights, for instance. I can’t wait to show off our wares to non-New Yorkers. We’re so self-involved all the time, it’ll be nice to pull out into a new culture and mindset!

Something I Ate

Thanks Kat and Sam!