Yesterday was the birthday of Alison Knowles. Alison’s work takes the radical stance that anything done mindfully can become a work of art. One of her most famous pieces consists of the instruction “Make a salad.” And while she has sometimes done this on a massive scale (salad for 1,000), it’s most truly realized by the person working alone in their kitchen, cutting vegetables, listening to the sound of the lettuce tearing, or the radishes slicing, and then the crunch of eating it. So I am thinking a lot of Alison’s work in these days of sheltering at home, and how something as simple and necessary as lunch can become an occasion to transcend the ordinary. Here’s a video of her talking about her “Identical Lunch” project - a tuna sandwich with a cup of soup or buttermilk. This is work for this moment in our lives. Love you, Alison!
