From the Biblical fruit that brought about the moral downfall of mankind
to "terminator" seed strains engineered to ensure that farmers have to
buy new seed stocks every year, from banana republics to the annual
tomato-throwing festivals in Spain, the story of fruits and vegetables
opens an idiosyncratic window on human development and interaction.
Cabinet 23 includes Steve Featherstone on a doomsday global seed
repository on a remote Arctic island; a conversation with legendary
kitchen scientist Harold McGee on the cooking of fruits and vegetables;
Frances Richard on the national standards for serving size and
nutrition; and essays on gleaning, tropical fruit and cultural identity
bee vision, and the history of throwing fruit and vegetables at bad
actors. Includes projects from Ellen Birrell, Sabrina Gschwandtner and
the Los Angeles-based Fallen Fruit collective, along with Daniel Handler
on the color violet; Jonathan Beller on the history of attention; Lytle
Shaw on the 1920s screenwriting how-to book Plotto; Peter Sloterdijk's
proposal for Inflatable Parliaments; and a supplement by the
London-based artists' collective Implicasphere focusing on the Nose.
