Clugage is interested in how individuals connect over food and in the parallels between today and the Gilded Age (1870–1910) that relate to the unequal distribution of wealth. Although wealthy Gilded Age individuals built many libraries and museums, these institutions struggle today to open their doors to the public in a welcoming manner. Clugage sees food as a remedy to this dilemma. To that end, she hosts salon dinners themed on the economic models and culinary styles of diverse periods in art history. Clugage strives to enact radical hospitality at her dinners through games, lectures, and culinary interactions, thus creating a welcoming space for all.
This project explores the accumulation of art, money, and food through two eras of massive wealth inequality: the Gilded Age and today.
Follow along as Sara Clugage creates a colorful gelatin dish and discusses wealth inequality throughout the Gilded Age and today.
Learn about Napoleon’s relationship with food and coffee in this fact sheet, given out as part of Sara Clugage’s Napoleon Salon. This salon, inspired by state banquets of Napoleon Bonaparte in his Tuileries palace, explored how art functions under an authoritarian regime.
Sara Clugage discusses how care manifests in her artistic practice during quarantine, along with her recent interest in jell-o.
Read about the history of cocktails in these handouts, part of Sara Clugage’s CARPA Cocktail Service. They cover the medicinal history of gin, “spirit rations” given by the US Army, and the Queen’s power to still give extra rations to the British Royal Navy today.