Abstract
This essay summarizes my thoughts and feelings about participating in the performative dining experience “The Silence Meal” at Zagreus-Projekt, Berlin, and it was hosted by the Finnish artist Nina Backman. The Silent Meal experiments revolve around sensual impression and silence and are part of the Silence Project that brings together independent artists with cultural and social entities to study, share, and experiment with the concept of silence in relation to new urban realities. The main body of the text is written in a memo style, interwoven with reflection parts to create a dense description of the situation as I experienced it. The closing remarks focus on methodological concerns about writing and elaborating memos and the introspection approach.
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Notes
“It started out as just an idea, perhaps out of a simple wish to drink some wine with friends as a performance, not talking, just ritualised behavior (symposium in the original sense?), concentrating on just the wine and on the sound. Everything was miked, the table, the glasses, the throats—and we really didn’t know where this was taking us. Yes, the wines were good.” (Quote from the back-cover of the CD Weingeister 2007)
In order not to leave the curiosity of gourmets and luculans unsatisfied, this is the entire menu: appetizer: beetroot with pomegranate, black cardamom, and roasted sesame, fried sea bass with lemon, coriander, and anise, yogurt mousse with horseradish and rape oil, radishes; main course: guinea fowl breast and leg with a rosemary crust, marinated cabbage with sea salt and lemon, and a cep sauce with white port; dessert: honey ice cream, chocolate sauce with Grand Marnier, and whipped cream with vanilla.
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Mey, G. Outer Silence—Inner Dialogue. Hu Arenas 1, 143–150 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-018-0017-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-018-0017-7