An EATS of Borneo raffle prize: A ‘Fruits and Nuts’ book by CalArts alumna Laura Owens (Art MFA, 1994).
East of Borneo, the online magazine of contemporary art and its history from a decidedly Los Angeles and West Coast perspective, brings together visual and culinary artists for an evening of food and fundraising on Nov. 10 at Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles. The event also doubles as a two-year anniversary of the magazine, which is published by CalArts.
The event—dubbed Eats of Borneo—is the pet project of East of Borneo’s Executive Editor Stacy Allan and Editor-in-Chief Tom Lawson, dean of the CalArts School of Art. They’ve assembled a special lineup of invited chefs—artists, writers, and local museum curators—who’ll present their best dishes to attendees. Special guests “judging” the cook-off are Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold (who once worked as a studio assistant for artist Chris Burden) and Top Chef Masters judge Krista Simmons.
Several CalArtians are preparing dishes for Eats of Borneo: In addition to Lawson’s and Susan Morgan’s Acorn Squash Caponata and Allan’s Fried Chicken & Waffle Cookie: The Roscoe, artist and Art faculty member Harry Gamboa Jr. brings his Shells & Peppers with pine nuts, garlic and goat cheese; alumna Olga Koumoundouros (Art MFA 01) prepares Horiatiko Spanakopita with herbs, mixed greens, green onions and leeks; and Machine Project (represented by Andrew Hong’s) Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream. The ever-growing tasting list features more than a dozen other artists contributing their kitchen creations to the cause.
Local craft beer will be provided from Golden Road Brewing and grilled food by Seoul Sausage Company (winners of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race). Raffle prizes are perfect for the art-minded foodie crowd—such as martinis with filmmaker Roger Corman; two tickets for a “Blood & Dumplings” tour of the San Gabriel Valley from Esotouric; and a subscription to Lucky Peach and a Mission Street Food cookbook from McSweeney’s.
Eats of Borneo continues a longstanding conversation between the worlds of food and art. Visit the magazine’s archives to watch a video of composer Harry Partch making rose petal jam; images from a handmade book by Laura Owens that uses California newspapers from the 1960s to play on the joke that California’s a state “full of Fruits and Nuts”; and an interview with artist Terry Allen that discusses Al’s Café (1969)—Allen Ruppersberg’s seminal installation, in which he often cooked an assemblage of “surprising” dishes for visitors.
Visit East of Borneo for more information.
East of Borneo presents Eats of Borneo
Blum & Poe
2727 South La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
Nov. 10 at 6 pm
Tickets: $40 door / $35 advance (includes food + one drink ticket);
$80 for the prix fixe package, which includes unlimited food and drink, EATS of Borneo mug, and five raffle tickets