Friday, March 6, 2009

Vegetable artist Ju Duoqi

Anyone for Da Vinci's Mona Lisa composed of Chinese cabbage, kelp, celery, tofu, pepper and potatoes? Or a last Supper, lovingly prepared with ginger, radish, tomato, mushrooms, bean curd, seaweed and rape? A Chinese artist is taking the sensual side of food to its ultimate extreme, by recreating Western masterpieces out of vegetables and photographing the results. On today's the List, let's see how the artist chops, slices and eats her representations of the old masters.













"La Liberte guidant le peuple", or Liberty Leading the People, is a painting by Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830. It's also the inspiration of Chinese artist Ju Duoqi's "Liberty Leading the Vegetables".



Chinese cabbage, mushroom, potato, seaweed, radish and a bunch of wooden toothpicks, that's all she needs for breathing new life into ordinary vegetables.



Artist Ju Duoqi said, "I pick two potatoes, a big one and a small one. There are some little pits on the small one, which can be seen as eyes and a nose. I see a vivid facial expression on it. With the help of lights, you will see it more clearly on the photo."



The different types, shapes and colors of vegetables, with a bit of rearranging, can make for a rich source of imagery. Fresh, withered, rotting, dried, pickled, boiled or fried - and all with a dash of digital manipulation - Ju presents a puzzling series of vegetable compositions representing world famous paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vincent Van Gogh's Self Portrait.



To Ju, the quirky idea of blending art and vegetables is natural and fun.



Ju Duoqi said, "These western masterpieces are very theatrical and have magnificent scenes. I think it's fun to organize various vegetables to play a drama as in the paintings. When I find an appropriate vegetable which perfectly fits the scene or the costume of the character, I'm very excited."



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