How Shall We Dine?

An Interactive, Performance and Edible Art Installations with the Burnt Asphalt Family

“Food Always tastes better with a little showmanship.”  

Rockland Center for the Arts will present “How Shall We Dine?,” an interactive, sweet and savory tasting celebration  on Saturday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m.

The Burnt Asphalt Family is an artist collective that uses performance, glass, and food to investigate American culture, craft, and relational aesthetics.  Their aim – to deal with the artifacts of artmaking and creating a haptic experience where the creation of the work happens in a moment of interaction with the audience.  Their event will transform the gallery into a hybrid of a dinner party, performance, and installation that will invite the audience to participate by enjoying edible installations and food cooked by fire sculptures.

As a family they believe that who gathers around your dining table is a marker of who your friends and family are and would like to invite you to join them for an evening. RoCA’s Emerson Gallery will hold an installation, from floor to ceiling, which contains sculptures made by various Burnt Asphalt Family members.

It will be made of glass, neon, found objects and food and will create an environment that invites the audience members to engage and interact with the installation. The attendees will deconstruct and eat parts of the sculptures together and in turn become part of the art.

The Burnt Asphalt artist collective is made up of artists, designers, fabricators, chefs and educators. Their events merge performance, craft, installation, food, and kinetic works. They began in 2007 with five people and since have grown to over 30.

The focus for their more recent performances is on redefining the definition of the dinner table and connecting and comparing the kitchen to the studio to create a “family space” where collective labor is performed. The food is then either served or added to the installation that the audience is invited to engage at the end of the performance.

The Art Family and Friends: Jessica Jane Julius, Erica Rosenfeld, Emma Salamon, Hope Rovelto, Deborah Czeresko, Sam Geer, Dena Pengas, Skitch Manion, Maret Sarapu, Sarah Gilbert, Adam Holtzinger, Leo Tecosky.

The event is a fundraiser for RoCA to benefit its exhibition and education programs.  Ticket are $100 per person; to make a purchase call 845-358-0877 or visit www.rocklandartcenter.org. Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 S. Greenbush Rd., West Nyack.

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