By Debbie Mitchell
"Eat well and make love" are words to live by says food artist and Chef Tiberio Simone, the man behind the beautiful book of sensual photography La Figa: Visions of Food and Form. Simone, a vibrant Italiano and James Beard Award winner, has been called a "pleasure activist", collaborated with Seattle photographer Matt Freedman to create the book. Their self published labor of love, took 5 years to complete. When asked to describe what kind of book they've created Simone and Freedman say " It's many books in one. A photography book, a recipe book, a philosophy book , a memoir and a self help book".
" Done properly, food and touch will not only provide pleasure but also engage and delight the senses. The first bite of a good meal is as promising as a first kiss."
La Figa: Visions of Food and Form features models of all age, shapes, sizes and colors wearing nothing on their naked bodies but the food that Simone styles them in. Tiberio admits the project did not start out that way "Originally we were working with women with perfect bodies. The women who saw the finished photos requested men. Shooting men is harder because they have body hair. Then we added people with different shapes and sizes, the bigger the better, diversity is better. It is more interesting."
Matt says the "The easiest thing was to find people to model. We had too many people."
Matt says the "The easiest thing was to find people to model. We had too many people."
In my phone interview, Tiberio and Matt explained the process of making each photograph come to life. They spent about one week planning each photo shoot. Photographer Matt Freedman said "The styling can take 4-6 hours while the model is holding the pose and trying to look good. Tiberio wants his food to look as best as possible."
They planned every detail. Freedman explained. "We think about the food we want to use, sketch, design, prep, pose and shoot. We have to get the pose right before we shoot it so we have to figure out what we like beforehand. We experiment with lots of poses and shots. After the pose is set "I can vary the lighting and focal length and I have about 10 minutes to take the shot. My time on the computer after the shoot is about 12 hours."
It is hard to tell the creative challenges by looking at the finished photos. Tiberio who only works with fresh fruits says there were a few challenges, "food does not belong on the body, it belongs in the body. You have to find the right ingredient for the right skin." To get the food to stay on the body was another challenge, "I used olive oil, balsamic reduction , flour water and egg white and even spit to get the food to stay."
I asked Chef Simone, what was the hardest food to style and photograph on the naked body? "The pomegranate. They are like diamonds, they do not stay on. Each pomegranate was holding on each other. I thought about the style and after a while came up with a bikini."
I discovered and fell in love with La Figa: Visions of Food and Form at the recent IACP Conference Book & Blog Festival and Culinary Expo in New York City where I met Matt. The book has all my favorite things, food, beautiful photography and a little bit of Italy. Speaking of Italy, I asked about the title of the book La Figa: Visions of Food and Form. La Fica is the name of Tiberio's favorite fruit in Italian, the fig. La Figa refers to a beautiful woman, (specifically vagina). Che bella figa loosely translated means "what a lovely woman." Tiberio saw the La Figa title as a celebration of his favorite fruit and a homage to women.
Alas, the title has caused much controversy. Some Italians find La Figa offensive and encouraged him to change it. He refused. Now, a year after the books release, he says "at this point I would have given the book a different name." He says the the Italian translation of the book will not have the La Figa title. The book recently won the 2012 Indie Book Award for best Coffee Table/Photography book http://www.indiebookawards.com/. I say keep the title, La Figa !
It does not take long to see that Chef Tiberio Simone is truly filled with passion for food and love. He was more than happy to sign my book with his mantra.... "Debbie, two things you must remember, eat well, and make love!" Okay Chef Simone, I love a good assignment!
It does not take long to see that Chef Tiberio Simone is truly filled with passion for food and love. He was more than happy to sign my book with his mantra.... "Debbie, two things you must remember, eat well, and make love!" Okay Chef Simone, I love a good assignment!
If you are ready to get naked with fruit and pose for your La Figa portrait, Matt Freedman and
Chef Tiberio Simone are waiting for you.
Not ready to pose, but just want to see more of La Figa click here.
TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards Committee. If you are a brand interested in blogger outreach campaigns, a blogger or personality interested in television placement follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or contact http://TheBloggerConnection.com.
Ciao, bella! Nice post about a very interesting book. Chef Simone clearly lives la dolce vita!
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