Art is not something to be viewed; rather, it is something to be experienced. We can look at a painting, but we can also listen to music, touch a sculpture, or even taste a hand-made dish. At the point of connection, art begins to defy its physical boundaries; it becomes a point of contact for those who experience it and the background in which it lies. In other words, art is ephemeral, and reflects just as much about its surroundings as it does any audience.
Tracing through any of the vast city blocks of Birmingham, Alabama, one must wonder how somewhere like this could produce art like that. Not to say that Birmingham isn’t a beautiful city, just that grace and delicacy can sometimes be lost between the iron skeleton of the Sloss furnace and the three coal plants just up the road. You walk down any city block and there is that same gusty wind from a train racing by, smoke stacks rising on the skyline, and the ever-present sound of a siren somewhere in the distance…how is it possible that this hardened, industrial metropolis is home to some of the most transcendental experiences that the south has to offer?
In some ways, I believe that is the beauty of Birmingham: to be lost in the skyscrapers of uptown one moment, and to be transported to a quaint French countryside the next (via the seasonal menu at Chez Fonfon, of course). Yes, it seems that the most permeating form of art within the city is that which you can taste. Beware, though: Birmingham’s food scene does not stop at the French— and it definitely does not care if you get addicted. Galley & Garden, El Barrio, Blueprint on 3rd, Ocean, Eugene’s, Hot & Hot Fish Club, Bottega, Highlands Bar & Grill…you can find a culinary “gallery” on every corner.
When we experience art, we are also experiencing the artist. By that logic, when you taste the food of Birmingham, you greet the city all the same. Through tasting the po boys at the Rougaroux or getting a burger at Jack Brown’s, you are actively consuming bits and pieces of Birmingham’s legacy. I encourage you to apply this way of thinking in your own lives— what experience are you looking for in your next dish?
