I'm getting ready for Thanksgiving and thinking of a Menu. Of course potatoes are in the mix and lucky for me I have plenty of potatoes after my trip to the San Luis Valley in early October. Now I know that Colorado is the third largest producer of potatoes in the USA, also that they grow a variety of potatoes, Russets, 
Yukons, Butterballs and a host with Colorado placenames. http://www.coloradopotato.org/The San Luis Valley is at 7600 ft and is surrounded by mountains which reach 14,000 ft. Its a beautiful valley and potatoes were grown as a crop starting in 1875. This makes it one of the earliest potato growing areas in the States.
The whole time we were being toured through potato fields and observing the sorting and processing of the potatoes I was recalling Vincent Van Gogh's "The Potato Eaters".
The whole time we were being toured through potato fields and observing the sorting and processing of the potatoes I was recalling Vincent Van Gogh's "The Potato Eaters".It ran through my mind like a melody which gets stuck and won't let go.
In 1885 Van Gogh painted "The Potato Eaters", this was 10 years after potatoes were grown as a crop in the San Luis Valley. When I got back I looked again at this painting and discovered the blog, http://www.vangoghsblog.com/ which I have listed in my blog list. The Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam has been posting these blogs with regularity this year based on Van Goghs writing. The last three posts have been especially interesting, one on color creating change,drawing etc.
As I roast, mash and cream my potatoes I will be both thinking of Van Gogh and remembering a beautiful high mountain valley.
4 comments:
I love the idea of infusing a daily activity with an art spirit.
For example, polishing a steel refrigeration calls up Donald Judd, and Noguchi is in every stone.
Ha! I love this- especially thinking about Noguichi actually as the leaves fell I was thinking of Goldsworthy.
Well, sure. Goldsworthy comes to mind in every stone and string, every leaf and puff of dust. Did you know he is a friend of John McQueen from whom we bought our building? Another friend of John's is the marvelous Jack Lenor Larsen, and we have an emphatic vine from a slip he gave John.
Post a Comment