Monthly Archives: January 2010

Matt Moore is hoping his “Lifecycles” art installation will change the way people think about the food they eat and ultimately help to preserve farming in the US.

The exhibit

The exhibit – which shows the life cycles of a variety of fruits and vegetables – is on display at the Sundance Film Festival through this Sunday.

Matt Moore's "LifeCycles" art installation at Sundance.

Matt believes that when people are more connected to food that grows in the ground (as opposed to what is manufactured in factories) they might make different, healthier choices.

“If people know it takes 180 days to grow a carrot, how does it change your relationship with food,” he asked.

He also hopes this art installation, which premiered last weekend at Sundance, will make people more appreciative of how important it is to preserve farmland, and farming.

“We can battle about organic or not organic,” he said, “but the first issue is about farming period.”

Matt fears we’re heading towards “a post-agrarian nation” and he’s hoping that his art installation is a way to pass on information that could prevent that outcome.

The public does care

In fact, there has been a lot of positive feedback and “Lifecycles” has proven to be a popular, and significant, attraction at the New Frontiers exhibition hall. People are noticing, watching and thinking.

A lady from Australia felt the installation proves a point about agriculture and made her think about the way people eat.

“If they did this for meat there’d be more vegetarians,” she said.

Adeel, 21, visiting from New York City, found the installation made him think about just what food choices mean.

Matt talks to Adeel from NYC.

“I don’t think I paid attention to how long it takes,” he said. “I never really think [about that.]”

He does, however, believe that people are aware of the dangers of making poor food choices.

“I don’t think people are as ignorant as we’d like to think they are,” he said. “People know but it doesn’t stop them from going to McDonald’s.”

One of the more influential visitors to the exhibit was Robert Redford, creator of Sundance, who spent time looking around the New Frontiers exhibition hall last weekend. And he talked to Matt about the “Lifecycles” project.

“He’s a really nice guy,” Matt said. “Totally tuned in. Such a big advocate for all the projects in here.”

Taking it all in

This whole experience of being at Sundance has been “very overwhelming” for Matt, “in a good way.”

There is still a lot more work to be done. The enthusiasm generated at Sundance should help keep him going.

Matt said that the positive attention “validates the point that it’s timely and people are interested.”

One thing he knows is he is going to need more money to continue.

Matt got a small art grant a few years ago and that ultimately led to him being noticed by Sundance. But most of the funding for this project (and the equipment is expensive) comes from farming and there is an end in sight, for both the money and the farming of his land.

What they have to lose

See, the land that Matt and his wife, Carrie, farm in Phoenix is set to be taken over by development. It’s the land he grew up on, the land his family has farmed for four generations. And it’s not an uncommon story these days.

“I’ve been there my whole life,” he said. “But that meaning, you don’t understand until it’s in peril.”

Matt and his wife, Carrie Marill, at Sundance 2010.

They currently farm 1,200 acres (they own 300 and lease the rest), growing on 300-400 at a time for the purpose of crop rotation. They have an  organic farm on 10 acres of the land where they grow 70 varieties of crops including kale, beans and potatoes. In addition, they grow dairy feed, including barley, parsnips, carrots and sorghum.

The couple originally thought the land would be gone in 2008 but the economic downturn bought them some time.

The future

Matt’s been filming his crops growing for a couple of years but he’s taking the future of his project as it comes, using a lesson that he learned in art school and has since applied to farming.

“I don’t know what’s going to come from it,” he said. “Don’t know that I should. If you don’t force it, it’ll end up happening the way it should.”

To learn more about Matt and his project, or to discuss funding, go to www.urbanplough.com or email matt@urbanplough.com or call (650) 906-6767.

According to Matt:

Radishes take 40 days to grow.
Kale takes 100 days to grow.
Swiss chard takes 105 days to grow.
A grapefruit tree takes 240 days to grow.

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I visited the Swaner EcoCenter in Park City yesterday and learned about the SFF (Sustainable Farming Food program) they’re hosting. More on that coming soon….

Working at the concession stand about 20 feet away, Melissa Anselmo, 24, has a front row seat to Matt Moore’s “Lifecycles” exhibit and has been paying close attention as people from all over the world stop and watch.

A woman at the "Lifecycles" exhibit has the opportunity to connect seeds in a packet to video images of food growing and the final result.

She feels the exposure to fresh vegetables and fruit has been effective.

“People stop and take it all in,” she said.

Melissa feels that it makes people think.

“Okay, this isn’t a grocery store, this came from the ground, it comes from dirt.”

She also feels the exhibit makes people shift away from their usual food shopping mindset.

“People don’t [generally] think where it comes from, they just look at the price.”

She was particularly pleased when a group of local 13-year-olds went through the exhibit and could see “where food comes from.”

Melissa feels that this understanding that food does not just appear out of nowhere is one that should be underscored.

Melissa Anselmo, 24, works behind the concession at Sundance 2010's New Frontiers exhibition hall.

“One of the greatest pleasures is food,” she said. And she remembers when she lived in India that it was hard to get food and it made people appreciate it more.

By contrast, living in New Zealand made her appreciate food on a new level due to the abundance of fresh produce and a much different food culture than what she knew.

“The cows are all grass-fed,” she said. “There are lots of Farmers Markets and people are into local food culture.”

She noted a “huge support” in New Zealand for fresh food grown locally. And it’s not something that’s required a lot of resources.

“They’re not super rich, they’re low key and down-to-earth,” she said.

Melissa just doesn’t see the same general attitude here.

“People think, ‘I don’t want to grow my own food, I don’t want to cook.’”

But she knows that once you start eating fresh food it’s hard to understand how anyone can go back.

She believes for the most part “people don’t want to hear where their food comes from.”

And it’s this bad attitude that has kept people from being responsible for what they eat.

This mindset has kept people from making food a centerpiece of their family time since it can seem easier to just pick up take-out and eat on the go.

When care is taken with food and making the meal is a part of a family’s time together there is more to appreciate and a reason to sit down and enjoy the meal together. It also helps children learn to socialize and communicate.

The New Frontiers exhibition center is located near the top of Park City's Main Street and across from the Egyptian Theater.

As for Melissa, well, she grew up in a fast food environment but moved on to explore and embrace a different pace for food. This has given her an appreciation for the value of fresh and healthy food and for preparing it well.

“I grew up in a crazy busy family. I never learned how to cook until I went away from home,” she said. “Looking back, I would have given up ice skating to cook meals.”

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Coming Soon…. More from the “Lifecycles” exhibit.

Also, I will be checking out a SFF (Sustainable Farmers Food program) based in Park City, UT.

I finally made it to Main Street today and got to meet one Mr. Matthew Moore!

Here he is:

Matthew Moore at his "Lifecycles" art installation at Sundance 2010

Before he got there I spent some time watching people check out his art installation:

"Lifecycles" at New Frontiers, Sundance 2010

Watching the display up-close was soothing, or “calming” as a gentleman from Australia said.

Sometimes the four monitors positioned over the produce showed self-contained images on some or all of the monitors and sometimes they showed a continuous image, such as the following ensemble of a stream of water, the life force of agriculture:

A stream flows across the four monitors.

Here it is up close:

Close up of a stream.

New Age relaxing music played continuously.

Here’s an image of produce growing:

"Lifecycles"

Beneath the video monitors was produce. Most of the produce is from a local supermarket, but two items are from Matthew and Carrie (his wife)’s farm in Arizona. The radishes and grapefruits:

"Lifecycles" radishes and grapefruits from the farm back in Arizona.

They had some seed packets which were available for people to “take one”:

Take a packet of seeds.

So, I did:

I took a packet of seeds.

I also ate one of the bananas.

Matt has been filming his produce as it grows for a long time and his project is a great way to understand where food comes from and it shows just how amazing nature really is.

I have lots to tell you in the coming days about my visit to the exhibit, including feedback from observers as well as Matt’s views on the future of agriculture, why he’s taken on this project and his vision for its evolution.

I’ll also be taking you inside the local supermarket where more of the project is on display.

So, check back soon!