at Table
“Honeycutt’s work, an elegant thirty-food table of slate and wood on the front lawn of the Maury grounds, also had its origins in the artist’s research of a historical figure. Interested in women’s roles through history, Honeycutt enlarged her thinking about Maury to include the “domestic” history of Virginia and the women who lived there, focusing on Mary Randolph (1762-1828). Randolph, who was the first person buried in Arlington Cemetery (a national monument in proximity to the Maury building), authored one of the first American cookbooks, The Virginia House-Wife (1824). From this initial connection to Randolph, Honeycutt decided to pursue the rich theme of Virginia cooking, which as a daily necessity connects all generations and racial and ethnic groups in the state, and in terms of blending tastes and influences integrates these groups. At the same time, however, Honeycutt makes the viewer aware that the work and history of cooking is weighted with issues of labor, class, race and gender. To relate her work further to the site, Honeycutt chose slate for her tabletop. This reference to the blackboards that once hung in Maury School allows the artist to write out different recipes from Virginia cookbooks, including Randolph’s, over the duration of the installation. A final component of the work is a sound recording of additional recipes and historical facts about food in Virginia. Honeycutt has constructed a visually striking history lesson, suited to the site of a former Virginia school, by re-examining and reinterpreting the familiar – cooking.”
Kristen Hileman, 1999©, Curator, Arlington Arts Center
wood, slate, text, chalk, turf paint, paint, audio. 4′ x 28′ 8″ x 4′
1999, Arts AlFresco Artist in Residence, Arlington County Department of Cultural Affairs. Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA. Project included working with six high school students over a two month period as we worked through all aspects of the installation. Photographed by Mark Gulezian QuickSilver Photographers
2005-2007, Brock Commons Outdoor Sculpture Program,Longwood University in Farmville, VA