The latest public art installation at Redwood City’s Art Kiosk pays tribute to an essential group of people – the farmers, farmworkers, market vendors and restaurant staff who help keep us all fed. “Food for Thought,” by artists Ari Granados, Elisabeth Koss and Laura Rubin, on view through Nov. 2, also aims to bring attention to the issue of food insecurity in local communities.
The artwork is designed in a black-and-white comic book-style, depicting scenes of farm life, a diner and a market. The goal is to inspire viewers to reflect on how much effort and care go into the meals that ultimately get to our plates.
“The farmers who grow our food also work under incredibly difficult conditions. Long hours in the sun, physically demanding labor, and often sub minimum wages are part of their everyday lives,” the artists wrote in a statement. “We intend to recognize their strength and dignity, and value the hands that feed us.”
A pig and cow appear in the artwork, along with a stork delivering a can of food – a playful spin on the old notion of storks delivering babies. The diner’s name is a nod to Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of United Farm Workers, and the number on the cow’s ear tag – 908 – is a reference to the starting date of the Delano Grape Strike on Sept. 8, 1965, a pivotal event for the farm labor movement.
Real food cans are suspended from trees throughout the installation, “symbolizing both the need and the hope of nourishment,” as the artist statement puts it, and a donation of canned food will be made to a local food bank after the exhibition ends.
Art Kiosk installations are curated by Fung Collaboratives (and are run and funded by the Redwood City Improvement Association), and the idea for this project started with Lance Fung himself, according to artist Koss. All three artists are students at San Jose State University. Koss, an MFA student, was excited by the challenge of helping create the mural-like project, which uses painted drop cloths to resemble comic book pages, and enjoys the playful look of the work, intended to catch the eye of young viewers in particular.
“We wanted to talk to the kids. We don’t want to preach; we don’t want to say something that is boring; we’re going to give a simple message of a complex problem,” she said. “That’s why we decided on a comic book, a simple image they would be attracted to with a little bit of humor. They can continue the dialog with their parents.”
While the installation is viewable 24/7, the artists have offered open hours for visitors to actually step inside the space and learn more about the work. The final open hours will be Nov. 2 from 2-8 p.m.
“‘OK, so what are you selling?'” one recent visiting child asked, Koss recalled with a laugh. “The principle here is not to sell, it’s just to make you pay attention.”
‘Food for Thought’ is on view through Nov. 2 at Art Kiosk, 2208 Broadway, Redwood City; free; redwoodcity.org/departments/parks-recreation-and-community-services/art-kiosk.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to add that Art Kiosk installations are presented by the Redwood City Improvement Association, in partnership with Fung Collaboratives.
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