Chocolate Lover (detail), 2006. Photos, sculpture, fabric. Dimensions variable.In 2007, Bay Area artist April Banks unveiled her multimedia series Free Chocolate in a solo exhibition at Intersection for the Arts. A visual expose of cocoa's global journey from farmer, to trader, to chocolate lover, this ongoing body of work is the result of Banks’s extensive research into the chocolate industry. She has traveled to the New York Board of Trade, to cacao farms in Ghana and Cuba, and unsuccessfully applied to work on a chocolate factory line. Today, she's conducting her chocolate and cacao research in Brazil. It almost goes without saying that chocolate is the artist's favorite confection. Though she says, "I don’t eat very much of it and even less so since [I began] Free Chocolate."
The following interview with Banks, conducted last year for this blog, was the catalyst for the current article in Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. The piece discusses two digital prints in the Free Chocolate series including the image above.
Banks recently partnered with Cacao Anasa to make a new line of chocolate bars called "Afrodisiac." These organic and vegan bars are made with ethically sourced dark and come in a variety of flavors such as cayenne, pistachio, and persimmon. In June, her photographs will be included in the exhibition Double Exposure at the Museum of the African Diaspora.
_______________________________________
Contemporary Confections: Describe the concept behind your recent exhibition Free Chocolate.
April Banks: The topic is huge, but I narrowed it down to the relationship between the cocoa farmer, the commodities trader, and the chocolate lover/consumer. I think these are three key entities in the huge trade of chocolate that can illustrate the affects of desire, greed and manipulation. This from the curatorial statement for the exhibition:
"In this brand new installation, Banks contemplates our need for beauty, sweetness, indulgence, and intoxication and the greed and manipulation that results in securing it. Grappling with issues of colonization and slavery, fair trade and sustainability, and the complex relationship between guilt and desire, the work in the exhibition sheds light on the intricate human web of the world of chocolate."
CC: I assume that “free” connotes “slavery free?” Is this synonymous with “fair trade?”
AB: Well, I meant it in a few ways. For the exhibition it made a catchy title, but [I've also given] chocolates away on the street with a hidden camera. More importantly, I meant it as a verb--to liberate. Chocolate is complicated and fraught with many inequalities. Slavery free and fair trade are related. For a product to be certified fair trade it must not involve slave labor.
CC: Give me a brief sketch of your creative process.
AB: Most of my work involves quite a bit of research and lately, like with Free Chocolate, it has been immersive. There is really no precise process [beyond that], as it often begins with an idea based on random "what if..." discussions with friends. It may not be (and usually isn’t) a discussion about art or a particular body of work, but the discussion itself leads me to a process through which I visualize an answer.
CC: How did the Micro Chocolate Shop materialize and do you see collaboration as a regular part of your practice?
AB: I love to collaborate with other people and not just artists; I think everything becomes so much richer. The desire for the Micro Shop two-fold. [First,] I wanted to make some money! Installations don’t sell everyday, so I was thinking about ways that will further my desire to be a full-time artist. Plus I’m surrounded by all these people who make great things and who also love chocolate. I knew it would potentially raise some questions since much of the exhibition was focused on consumerism, so I used the [Micro Shop] as an opportunity to make additional statements about my personal conflict between my love of chocolate and the realities that surround its production.
CC: Talk a bit more about the role and representation of the commodities trader in the exhibition? How would viewers see the commodities trader visually and within the larger chocolate industry?
AB: The commodities trader, the actual person on the trading floor, is really just a representative of the larger corporations whose goal is to control all risks and secure low prices. I chose to represent the trader [as opposed to other key players] because his role is visually demonstrative and the excitement, aggression and chaos in the pit was easier to translate in a conceptual way. The cocoa farmer, the consumer, and the trader are intertwined in a supply and demand tug of war. The consumer is oblivious to any of this unless there is a spike in price due to drought or disease. And even then we remain unaware of the reasons why. The farmer is at the mercy of the prices the trader secures--with the exception of fair trade--where they are guaranteed a minimum price. So I showed the trader pretty true to form--aggressive, confrontational, and animated. I did however remove him from the trading environment, showing him on a white background in isolation. I felt showing that him out of context would emphasis the attitude.
CC: Since it’s such a large issue and the series is ongoing, might you speak to the other significant players in the chocolate industry going forward?
AB: I will definitely address other aspects of chocolate as I continue researching and exploring. I didn’t have much success accessing the ports and the shipping industry and I’d love to learn more about the import/export side. I’m interested in how marketing trends for gifts affect the whole industry such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
I have also been collecting vintage chocolate ads, which are mostly European, and loaded with social and class connotations. I would like to imagine how a present-day version of those ads might look. I’ve been working on some “protest” images too and exploring different iterations of images from the first exhibit at Intersection for the Arts.
CC: Was there video work or documentation in the Free Chocolate exhibition? OR did you take any type of audio/visual recording device with you to West Africa?
AB: There is video footage from the street scenes where I gave away chocolate. There was also documentary photography from my travels at the entry of the exhibition to give some point of reference to the more conceptual work. I did record video while traveling in Africa, but I haven’t edited any of it! Not much of it is from the cocoa regions, as I was so overwhelmed by being there and I couldn’t shoot both video and photography.
CC: Looking through other work and projects on your website and considering the ideas behind Free Chocolate, you seem to have a particular interested in access and economy (of course, among other ideas). Is that an accurate assessment?
AB: I guess if I look back on the body of work I’ve made so far there is definitely a thread of access in there. I don’t think I’m consciously focusing on it, but I can’t deny it’s there. The process for Free Chocolate began many years ago, as my obsession with chocolate matured, and I became more aware of the social and economic issues [around it]. At the time, I just collected information and went to lectures and cacao farms in Ghana, all the while having no particular concept or end result in mind. Truthfully, I don’t want to weave a theme or thread through my art. [Though] I suppose that’s not realistic in the art world as we know it. I just want to make work about whatever is on my mind at the time and not have worry about how it fits into my bio.
CC: How long have you worked in architecture and design? Do you see a separation between those practices and what you’ve done with Free Chocolate?
AB: I’ve been in the design world since 1996. I started making my first transition from architecture [to fine art] while in graduate school at Art Center College of Design. My class was full of architects looking for a way out! It was there that I did my first installations, but professionally I made the shift to exhibition design. I designed permanent exhibitions for museums for 5 years before making the finally transition to “full-time artist.” So my design background is a huge part of how I approach an installation and fortunately, with my many years of schooling, I can pretty much do it all—the graphics, photography, video, drawings for the installations. And the best part of all is that [I can create] any concept I chose.
The Hand I Eat With, 2007. Digital photograph.
CC: Give me a brief sketch of your creative process.
AB: Most of my work involves quite a bit of research and lately, like with Free Chocolate, it has been immersive. There is really no precise process [beyond that], as it often begins with an idea based on random "what if..." discussions with friends. It may not be (and usually isn’t) a discussion about art or a particular body of work, but the discussion itself leads me to a process through which I visualize an answer.
CC: How did the Micro Chocolate Shop materialize and do you see collaboration as a regular part of your practice?
AB: I love to collaborate with other people and not just artists; I think everything becomes so much richer. The desire for the Micro Shop two-fold. [First,] I wanted to make some money! Installations don’t sell everyday, so I was thinking about ways that will further my desire to be a full-time artist. Plus I’m surrounded by all these people who make great things and who also love chocolate. I knew it would potentially raise some questions since much of the exhibition was focused on consumerism, so I used the [Micro Shop] as an opportunity to make additional statements about my personal conflict between my love of chocolate and the realities that surround its production.
CC: Talk a bit more about the role and representation of the commodities trader in the exhibition? How would viewers see the commodities trader visually and within the larger chocolate industry?
"Trader" series, 2006. Photos on vinyl mesh, 150 x 20 in.
AB: The commodities trader, the actual person on the trading floor, is really just a representative of the larger corporations whose goal is to control all risks and secure low prices. I chose to represent the trader [as opposed to other key players] because his role is visually demonstrative and the excitement, aggression and chaos in the pit was easier to translate in a conceptual way. The cocoa farmer, the consumer, and the trader are intertwined in a supply and demand tug of war. The consumer is oblivious to any of this unless there is a spike in price due to drought or disease. And even then we remain unaware of the reasons why. The farmer is at the mercy of the prices the trader secures--with the exception of fair trade--where they are guaranteed a minimum price. So I showed the trader pretty true to form--aggressive, confrontational, and animated. I did however remove him from the trading environment, showing him on a white background in isolation. I felt showing that him out of context would emphasis the attitude.
CC: Since it’s such a large issue and the series is ongoing, might you speak to the other significant players in the chocolate industry going forward?
AB: I will definitely address other aspects of chocolate as I continue researching and exploring. I didn’t have much success accessing the ports and the shipping industry and I’d love to learn more about the import/export side. I’m interested in how marketing trends for gifts affect the whole industry such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
I have also been collecting vintage chocolate ads, which are mostly European, and loaded with social and class connotations. I would like to imagine how a present-day version of those ads might look. I’ve been working on some “protest” images too and exploring different iterations of images from the first exhibit at Intersection for the Arts.
CC: Was there video work or documentation in the Free Chocolate exhibition? OR did you take any type of audio/visual recording device with you to West Africa?
AB: There is video footage from the street scenes where I gave away chocolate. There was also documentary photography from my travels at the entry of the exhibition to give some point of reference to the more conceptual work. I did record video while traveling in Africa, but I haven’t edited any of it! Not much of it is from the cocoa regions, as I was so overwhelmed by being there and I couldn’t shoot both video and photography.
"Farmer" series, 2006. Photos on vinyl mesh, 150 x 20 in.
AB: I guess if I look back on the body of work I’ve made so far there is definitely a thread of access in there. I don’t think I’m consciously focusing on it, but I can’t deny it’s there. The process for Free Chocolate began many years ago, as my obsession with chocolate matured, and I became more aware of the social and economic issues [around it]. At the time, I just collected information and went to lectures and cacao farms in Ghana, all the while having no particular concept or end result in mind. Truthfully, I don’t want to weave a theme or thread through my art. [Though] I suppose that’s not realistic in the art world as we know it. I just want to make work about whatever is on my mind at the time and not have worry about how it fits into my bio.
CC: How long have you worked in architecture and design? Do you see a separation between those practices and what you’ve done with Free Chocolate?
AB: I’ve been in the design world since 1996. I started making my first transition from architecture [to fine art] while in graduate school at Art Center College of Design. My class was full of architects looking for a way out! It was there that I did my first installations, but professionally I made the shift to exhibition design. I designed permanent exhibitions for museums for 5 years before making the finally transition to “full-time artist.” So my design background is a huge part of how I approach an installation and fortunately, with my many years of schooling, I can pretty much do it all—the graphics, photography, video, drawings for the installations. And the best part of all is that [I can create] any concept I chose.
AB:
CC: In your opinion, how far removed are Americans from the truth about chocolate?- International travel for change of perspective and comfort zone.
- Diller+Scofidio (now Diller Scofidio Renfro)—architects who were making architectural spaces in non-traditional ways. (I became aware of their work at a time when I was becoming restless with architecture.)
- Carrie Mae Weems and Lorna Simpson for their narratives and visual criticism through photography.
- Film (movies) for it’s ability to transport me into deeply creative territory.
- Human nature, because it is never boring and for all of the good and bad it will always be the best source for creative material.
AB: Well I just gave a presentation last weekend at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon and if you could have seen the look on people’s faces you’d see how completely removed we are from any and all truths about chocolate. There seems to be more awareness around other food products like coffee and tea, but for some reason the truth about chocolate is lagging behind.
CC: I’ve stumbled upon a bunch of books about chocolate, but few appear to consider chocolate today, as opposed to historically. Hence, I’m really intrigued by your chocolate research in the here and now and what it can teach us as consumers. Was your research mostly fieldwork or were there specific books that you read? Specific lectures that had an impact on you perhaps? Materials or websites that you might recommend for those who want to learn more?
AB: I’ve read a range of books from an in depth look at how cocoa has affected economies, lineage, and land rights, to a general history and the role of large manufacturers. There’s the business side, the socially responsible side and the agricultural side. Here’s a short list of books:
- Cocoa and Chaos in Ghana by Gwendolyn Mikell
- Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum
- Harvest of Hope by Phil Grout
- The True History of Chocolate by S.D. and M. D. Coe
- The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes by Maricel Presilla
- Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars by Joel Glenn Brenner
Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor by Michael Recchiuti
Chocolat Mon Amour by Michel Richart and Marc Peverelli
Another by a world renowned chocolate taster/critic:
Chocolate Connoisseur: For Everyone with a Passion for Chocolate by Chloe Doutre-Roussel
I’ve also done online research, gone on tours of processing plants, chocolate tastings, lectures and panel discussions. I’ve also worked with a small chocolatier here in
Fair Trade: www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade
Empowering Cocoa Communities: http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/
Cooperative Owned Company: http://www.divinechocolate.com/
Oxfam Campaign: www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=dumped_thom.htm
The Field Museum: www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/exhibits.html
And I visited the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana where they have a small cacao farm and a campus of laboratories that study everything from pod diseases to producing hybrid pods to cacao byproducts: http://www.cocobod.gh/
CC: What other types of projects are you working on or dreaming about?
AB: I see lots of M&Ms! If I get any of the many grants I’ve applied for, I’ll be doing more research in Africa and
