Author: Anne Ewbank / Source: Atlas Obscura
Consider the humble potato. Linguistically, it’s often used to denigrate. Unimportant things are “small potatoes,” and we all try not to be “couch potatoes.” Nearly alone among vegetables, its nutritional value is questioned, making mashed potatoes and french fries something of a guilty pleasure.
But to artist and professor Jeffrey Allen Price, potatoes transcend their homely image. In fact, he might be the potato’s number one hype man. Price is the proud owner of 5,000 pieces of potato ephemera, from toys to books to snacks. He collects on behalf of his Think Potato Institute, which encompasses potato art, potato music, and potato events. Until June 15, 100 of his collectibles will be on display at Stony Brook University’s Charles B. Wang Center.
At the exhibition—titled Potasia: Potatosism in the East—the potato is king. Nineteen artists from Asia contributed artwork, which was curated by Price and the Wang Center’s director of cultural programs, Jinyoung Jin. Each and every work incorporates potatoes, whether in paint, video, or actual embellished potatoes.
Potasia is the sixth potato-themed art show that Price has curated. In honor of the tuber, he’s thrown events, amassed his collection, and even composed music (you can check out his band Potatotron on Soundcloud). While potatoes are often derided for their goofy name and lumpy appearance, they remain “humble, earthy, versatile, and healthy,” Price says. Potatoes spread from Peru across the planet to feed millions, providing nourishing and familiar meals in nearly every country. This, Price says, makes them a near-universal symbol, albeit one of many meanings. Humor, family, poverty, humility, and hope are all tied up in the concept of potato. “It is a very approachable vegetable,” Price says.
Price coined the term “potatoism” to describe the act of examining how potatoes intersect with and influence culture. But Price, who graduated from Stony Brook in 2003 with a master’s in studio art, points out that potatoes have long been represented in art. He was particularly influenced by Vincent Van Gogh’s 1885 work “The Potato Eaters,” a painting of a peasant family sharing a hard-earned meal of potatoes. Van Gogh drew many people harvesting or peeling potatoes, which…
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