La Table Ronde

About

The exhibition "La Table Ronde" invites the visitors to attend an idealized French banquet. The exhibition space turns into a stage for the spectacle with eight courses. The twelve invited guests sitting at the table become part of the performance with their conversations and interactions. Curator and artists hatch into the role of hosts and cooks. For a period of six hours, the guests indulge in an opulent meal and their conversations reveal the depth of Immanuel Kant's saying, "Good food and drink is the true metaphysics of life / Gut Essen und Trinken ist die wahre Metaphysik des Lebens ". Unlike the exuberant dinner in the style of La Grande Bouffe by Marco Ferreri, this dinner performance celebrates good food and above all - life.

French cuisine is recognized by UNESCO as intangible world cultural heritage - the banquet as a social gathering and at the same time as a social network, where knowledge and cultural identity are passed on through the profession. Here it is celebrated in the performance at the dinner table. The composition of the dishes reflects lost cooking traditions and almost forgotten dishes. Multiple courses were chosen for their a special meaning in culture or culinary history and celebrate the art of eating and drinking. 

In addition to the performance at the opening, the works of the 20 participating artists will be dealing with the various aspects of conditions of equality (La Table Ronde) via gastronomy. There are several senses addressed, one can not only hear and see the works, but also touch them, eat them and perceive the smell. They correspond dramatically to each course of the meal and components of the performance.  The exhibition presents video works, installations, as well as photo documentation of the performance.