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A Delectable Food Photography Book Follows the History of Foodporn

Aperture introduces another pleasing retrospective exploring the history of us taking photos of our meals.

Just as the evolution of cuisine has changed over the years, so has the photography style and trends that have gourmands flocking to new restaurants and eating fads. A confluence of advertising and art, a new book from the Aperture Foundation takes a sartorial evolution of food photography. From the start of the 1900s to the mid-2010s, Feast for the Eyes takes a careful approach to highlighting the best food art captured by cameras.

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Author and arts writer behind Feast for the Eyes, Susan Bright, engages the reader at the beginning of the food photography movement, offering a visual briefing on certain themes in the industry and particularly exquisite photos. Describing the aesthetic value of food photography, Bright explains, "photographs of food are rarely just about food." Beautiful in their own right, the photography is a celebration of artistry.

"They hold our lives and time up to the light," continues Bright. "Food can signify a lifestyle or a nation, hope, or despair, hunger or excess. Ultimately, food is not only about literal taste, but also 'taste' [or] the lifestyle we aspire to and the building blocks of culture itself."

See more from the delicious photography book, here:

Wladimir Schohin, Stiliebern, 1910; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). Courtesy Amatörfotorgrafklubben i Helsingfors rf, Finland

Victor Keppler, [General Mills advertising campaign–Apple Pyequick], 1947; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017)

Russell Lee, Serving Pinto Beans at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair barbeque, 1940; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). Courtesy The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Nickolas Murray, Lemonade and Fruit Salad, McCall's magazine, ca. 1943; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Nickolas Murray Photo Archives, Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gifts of Mrs. Nickolas Murray

Harold Edgerton, Milk Drop Coronet, 1957; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © 2010 MIT, Courtesy MIT Museum

Stephen Shore, Trails End Restaurant Kanab, Utah, August 10, 1973; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Stephen Stone, Courtesy 303 Gallery, New York

Sandy Skoglund, Peas On A Plate, 1978; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © 1978 Sandy Skoglund

Martin Parr, Untitled (Hot Dog Stand), 1983–85; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Martin Parr/ Magnum Photos

Rinko Kawauchi, Untitled 2001, from the series Utatane; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Rinko Kawauchi

Nickolas Murray, Food Spread, Daffodils, McCall's magazine, ca. 1946; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Nickolas Murray Photo Archives, Courtesy George Eastman Museum, gift of Mrs. Nickolas Murray

Daniel Gordon, Pineapple and Shadow, 2011; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). Courtesy the artist and James Fuentes Gallery, New York

Martin Parr, Pink Pig Cakes, 2002; from Feast for the Eyes (Aperture, 2017). © Martin Parr/ Magnum Photos

To purchase your own copy of Feast for the Eyes, visit the Aperture website, here.

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