Katie Lederer, Student Work, Natural History of the Senses Assignment

Man Eater

Digital Collage

"The idea of cannibalism is so far from our ordinary lives that we can 

safely use the euphemism eat in a sexual context, say, and no one 

will think we mean literally consume"

A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman, p. 136

Statement:

I think it is comical to have a woman eating a man.  The original photo of a woman eating was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt and appears in a 1950's article on how to "eat spaghetti like a lady". I hope she is eating this man as ladylike as possible. 

Dinner Party

Video

 "Humans rarely choose to dine in solitude." 

A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman, p. 128

Statment:

The video documents me making an elaborate meal. In real time, the meal took over two hours to prepare. In the end, I'm the only one at the table.  More often than not, I will eat alone.  I find creating a fancier-than-necessary meal for myself is meditative process.  When I cook alone I do it as an act of love to myself, especially after a rough day.