Food (+Drink) for Thought

On her visually appealing and very satisfying site Salad for President, NYC-based artist/photographer Julia Sherman 06 PH taps into our abiding interest in good food and curiosity about other people’s kitchens and taste. She’s clearly comfortable chatting with, cooking and sharing recipes made by her interesting circle of friends – artists, designers, restaurateurs and fellow makers.

In a recent post Sherman features a recipe for Dike Blair’s Fresh Bloody Mary along with luscious imagery and a great interview with longtime RISD Painting faculty member Dike Blair.

“If you are lucky, you had a professor or a mentor at some point in your life who took a particular interest in you, who both treated you like a peer and expected you to live up to their standards at the same time – someone whose attention felt so valuable, you didn’t quite know what you had done to deserve it,” Sherman writes in introducing the Q+A with Blair, who has played that role in her life.

At one point in the interview, Sherman asks Blair if “there is enough cynicism in art school… since the truth is, there just isn’t room for us all in the market of the ‘professional’ art world.”

Blair’s response: “I think one needs to know that the odds of being commercially successful [as a fine artist] are extremely long. That’s not really cynical, it’s realistic.” He also points out that in his teaching – especially at the graduate level – he emphasizes “the desirability of developing a ‘practice’ that is compelling enough to pursue without tangible reward.”

gouache and paper on pencil piece by Dike Blair