The menu from Studio Olafur Eliasson's dinner for the Climate Museum's Miranda Massie. Image courtesy of the artist's Instagram

Olafur Eliasson puts carbon on the menu

When Eliasson's studio cooked a meal for NYC’s Climate Museum director it listed one additional ingredient. . .

The artist Olafur Eliasson is on the board of the Climate Museum, a US institution which endeavours to use the sciences, art, and design to inspire dialogue and innovation that address the challenges of climate change. The museum hasn’t been built, yet Eliasson has submitted a few concept sketches, picturing a globular structure that should, someday soon hopefully stand in New York City.

 

One of Olafur Eliasson's concept sketches for the Climate Museum
One of Olafur Eliasson's concept sketches for the Climate Museum

Alas, a little CO2 will have to be expended in creating this new museum. Obviously Olafur and co want to keep this to an absolute minimum. So, when the putative museum’s director, Miranda Massie, visited the artist over in Berlin, his studio kitchen prepared as climate friendly a dinner as possible. Cutting out all meat and minimizing its use of dairy products, the studio kitchen – which also prepares healthy, daily meals for Olafur and all his staff – cooked a delicious meal from local vegetables most of which were grown on site.

 

Ingredients for Studio Olafur Eliasson's dinner for the Climate Museum's Miranda Massie. Image courtesy of soe_kitchen's Instagram
Ingredients for Studio Olafur Eliasson's dinner for the Climate Museum's Miranda Massie. Image courtesy of soe_kitchen's Instagram

To prove the point, the kitchen even published the meal’s estimated CO2 emission, per diner, on that evening’s menu. Of course, the paper and ink would have contributed to those emissions, yet for so vivid a demonstration of the hidden cost of meat and dairy, it seems worth it.

 

Ingredients for Studio Olafur Eliasson's dinner for the Climate Museum's Miranda Massie. Image courtesy of soe_kitchen's Instagram
Ingredients for Studio Olafur Eliasson's dinner for the Climate Museum's Miranda Massie. Image courtesy of soe_kitchen's Instagram

To prepare healthy, vegetarian meals, fit for a world renowned artist, an entire studio, or even an exacting climate-change activist, order a copy of Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen here; and for more on Olafur Eliasson order a copy of our Contemporary Artist Series book devoted to him