Engineered Food

The still life works in this series look at the points of contact between human technology and the natural world. Humans can’t exist without food, and many of our first inventions came about to fulfill this need. Through the millennia human ingenuity has introduced fire to cook food, fields to grow it and selective breeding to make wild plant and animal strains better adapted to human wants. Recent developments in genetics now open the door to the creation of trans-genic plants and animals. Reactions to these and other technological advances have ranged from enthrallment to extreme dis-ease, with some reactions turning violent. The Breakfast Cereal Manifesto works look at one such person’s reactions: those of the Unabomber.

Most images 15 x 18¾ inches on paper 17 x 22 inches. Editions of 20. St. Francis Church image is sulfide-toned gelatin-silver print, 4 x 5 inches on paper, 5 x 7 inches.

El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, After Ansel Adams’ ca. 1972 “Clearing Thunderstorm” (Tofu and Spam), 1995

Square Tomatoes, 1994

St. Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico (Homage to Paul Strand) (Hostess Sno Balls and Wonderbread) 2000

Engineered Food I, 1994

Carrot Fingers, 1994

Big Corn, Little Corn, 1994

Breakfast Cereal Manifesto I (Words by the Unabomber) 1996

Breakfast Cereal Manifesto II (Words by the Unabomber) 1996

Unofficial 13-Star Flag (The Betsy Ross Flag) 1776 (Spam, white and yellow American cheese) 2001

15-Star Flag (The Star-Spangled Banner) 1795-1818 (Spam, white and yellow American cheese) 2001