My friend Carolyn in St. Louis [she would correct me and say, “Eureka!”] found this great story on the NPR website about two grocery store chains hiring artists. It was so good, I had to share it.
Marshall McLuhan once said, “Ads are the cave art of the twentieth century.” Some people probably thought he was calling advertising people [of which I’m one] Neanderthals. But I understood his point. Those wonderful cave paintings, mostly of herds of running animals, weren’t the prehistoric equivalent of sofa-sized paintings to decorate the home. They served a very practical purpose: To ensure the success of the hunt. The otherwise well-preserved paintings are pockmarked, probably by attacks with spears and other weapons as part of some kind of good luck ritual. And the artists stenciled handprints onto the animals’ necks and other control points, probably intended to give them control over their prey.
I frequently shop at Trader Joe’s and, on occasion, at Whole Foods. I’ve always noticed the fun and often funny hand-drawn signage in the stores—kind of cave art for the twenty-first century, designed to ensure the enjoyment of our hunt. And I’ve wondered about its creation. I’m delighted to learn that these two smart chains find it worth their while to hire artists for each store.
The photo is by the artist, Katie Lanciano, and is from NPR’s site. I trust neither will mind me using it to publicize their story.
If art can convey the “visual” of our love of food, then poetry carries the consciousness of that enjoyment. My favorite food poem:
This is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
William Carlos Williams
I love this poem too, Carolyn. I’d been contemplating ways to incorporate this poem into a post sometime. You beat me to the punch.
Love the poem. Reminds me of something that might happen at our house.
You know, I’ve seen some pretty decent signs at our local grocery store that might even qualify as art.
(BTW, I was in advertising for a while — Neanderthal hits the mark!)
You know, Mimi, advertising is a complicated business—perhaps more so today than ever before. There are times it drives me absolutely crazy. But there are also plenty of moments when I agree with advertising legend and NY restaurateur Jerry Della Femina: “Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”
Well, my coworkers were fun. And the work was fun. But the boss was a crazy woman who focused too much on long-range planning and not enough on taking care of her clients day-to-day needs. She had a prodigious appetite for spending money, renting unneeded office space and then asking her staff to find reasons to fill it. Keeping her focused was so much work, most of us gave up and found other jobs.
But we did some good things and we did win our share of Addies.
I love that poem too. Thanks for dropping by my site Terry and sharing the salsa ideas.
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