The Place of Taste: A Symposium on Food, Culture, and Community

EVENT: The Place of Taste: A Symposium on Food, Culture, and Community
Saturday, October 2, 2010; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
'62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williams College

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- This free, daylong event showcases a menu of enticing events and discussion and features chefs, writers, scholars, and artists, including: Adam Gopnik, staff writer at The New Yorker, and Bill Yosses, White House Executive Pastry Chef. Organized by the Williams College Museum of Art and Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture in celebration of the journal's 10th anniversary.

The event is free; please RSVP to wcmareservations@gmail.com or call 413-597-4545.

The day's events will be punctuated by a sense-delighting architectural dessert designed by Joshua Needleman, creator of Chocolate Springs Café (Lenox, MA), and a musical interlude by the Williams Chamber Choir.

A panel discussion about the dimensions of taste will include Carolyn Korsmeyer (Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, SUNY), John E. Finn (Professor of Government, Wesleyan University), and Deborah Rothschild (Curator Emerita, WCMA), moderated by Mitchell Davis (Vice President of the James Beard Foundation).

Contemporary artist Pepón Osorio and Williams art professor Ed Epping will discuss the cultural perceptions of taste and finally, Dan Barber (Executive Chef of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns) will examine taste and sustainability. A farmers. market concludes the day of events, highlighting over 18 farms and vendors selling local artisanal foods and products.

"This symposium offers a wonderful opportunity to increase awareness of food studies at Williams and to explore the many ways in which food enriches our individual and collective lives," explains Gastronomica editor-in-chief and Williams professor Darra Goldstein. "I am enormously grateful to WCMA for the museum's generosity and support for this interdisciplinary project, which both celebrates and reflects Gastronomica's mission."

Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture has been nourishing readers' minds and senses since 2001. Through its diverse voices and provocative, often playful mix of essays and visual imagery, the journal brings together writers, artists, scholars, chefs, and passionate amateurs to reflect on the wider cultural and political significance of food.

Guests will also have an opportunity to see Drowned in a Glass of Water: An Installation by Pepón Osorio at WCMA, which was commissioned by the museum on the occasion of Gastronomica's 10th anniversary. Using themes of food, culture, and community as a starting point, Osorio spent the past year sharing conversations, stories, and meals with many people in both Williamstown and North Adams. The resulting artwork represents the stories of two families, transforming personal memory into a collective narrative.

Following Osorio's practice, the large-scale multimedia installation was first on view at a former Chevrolet dealership in North Adams, and is now at the museum this fall. By shifting context, the project enables WCMA to link audiences in dialogue and reflection and become a crossroad to the community.

Drowned in a Glass of Water: An Installation by Pepón Osorio will be on view at WCMA through February 11, 2011. Admission to the museum is always free.

View the complete schedule at www.wcma.org.

Harvest Dinner

A special harvest dinner prepared by chefs Joji Sumi of Mezze Bistro and Brian Alberg of The Red Lion Inn is available to a limited number of symposium participants. Hosted by Mezze Bistro + Bar at their new location in Williamstown, part of the proceeds will benefit Berkshire Grown. Saturday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. -- $100 per person -- Seating is limited; please reserve early at (413) 458-0123

Symposium Schedule
http://www.wcma.org/general_info/general_pdfs/The%20Place%20of%20Taste%20Symposium%20Schedule.pdf

10:00 - Welcome Remarks

Lisa Corrin, Class of 1956 Director, Williams College Museum of Art Darra Goldstein, Gastronomica Editor-in-Chief and the Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Russian at Williams

10:20 - On the Nature of Taste

Adam Gopnik, author of the forthcoming The Table Comes First and staff writer at The New Yorker

11:20 - Break

11:30 - On Taste and Desire

Bill Yosses, White House Executive Pastry Chef

12:30 - Lunch Break

1:30 - Gastronomica.s 10th Anniversary Cake-Cutting

Featuring an architectural dessert created by Joshua Needleman of Chocolate Springs

2:00 - On the Dimensions of Taste

Carolyn Korsmeyer, Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, SUNY
John E. Finn, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University
Deborah Rothschild, Curator Emerita, Williams College Museum of Art
Moderator: Mitchell Davis, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation

3:00 - On Cultural Perceptions of Taste

Pepón Osorio, Artist-in-residence, Williams College Museum of Art, and
Ed Epping, Alexander Falck Class of 1899 Professor of Art at Williams

4:00 - Interlude: Williams Chamber Choir
Brad Wells, director

4:15 - Break

4:30 - On Taste and Sustainability
Dan Barber, Executive Chef of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

5:30 - A Taste of Place
A farmers. market showcasing local artisanal foods and their producers

This is a free, public event, but RSVPs are required.
RSVP to wcmareservations@gmail.com or call (413) 597-4545

For more information about Gastronomica, visit www.gastronomica.org.

This event is made possible by: The Williams College Museum of Art, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, the Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Williams College, the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College, the Williams College Lecture Committee, the Chaplains. Office at Williams College, the Williams College Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Williams College Program in Latina/o Studies, and Williams College, and Patti, Frank, and Johanna Kolodny.