SACRAMENTO, CA.- The Crocker Art Museum will open the world抯 first photosynthetic restaurant this spring. Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has developed a gourmet cuisine for flora by filtering and mixing different wavelengths of sunlight. Keats installation will be on view in the floral plantings in front of the historic Crocker from April 16 through July 17, 2011.
An experimental philosopher, Keats has a long history of encompassing other species in his installations. He has choreographed a ballet for honeybees by selectively planting flowers around their hives. He has also produced travel documentaries for houseplants by projecting videos of foreign skies onto their foliage in a darkened theater.
揥hat motivates me is curiosity. In the case of my photosynthetic restaurant, I wondered what it抯 like to be human and to do peculiarly human things like savoring a good meal, Keats explains. 揂dapting a common human activity to the plant kingdom梬ithout anthropomorphizing the plants梚s a way to explore an aspect of human behavior that we otherwise take for granted.
Keats efforts to share aspects of human culture with other species encourages us to scrutinize our own cultural values. He adds, 揑f this project succeeds, the plants at the Crocker will eat well, and the people who encounter them梞yself included梬ill have a provocative conversation.
