Free food in the gallery: Understanding Tiravanija

Abstract

Artists interrupting or intervening in art museum displays with food as a medium or theme is a distinct strand of contemporary art practice. In this article, we travel through fragments of the history of food-art with a few examples of different genres and forms, demonstrating that art history can be explained in other ways than through the already recognized art genres. Based on my experience in-person with Untitled (Lunch Box), an interpretation of Tiravanija’s ephemeral work is provided using the model of communicative action theorized by Habermas, which was first applied to contemporary art by art scholar Grant Kester (). Tiravanija’s practice uses food to create situations for communicative actions to happen and is an approach to institutional critique. The last section provides a critical account against Bishop’s criticism of Tiravanija, arguing that Bishop’s understanding of art is based on instrumental rationality. On the other hand, Tiravanija’s approach is based on value rationality and is a more timely approach in the contemporary context of late-stage capitalism.