The Fried Dough Ho

I would like to introduce you to Emily Eveleth. Well, truth-be-told, *I* would like to be introduced to Emily Eveleth but the least I can do is introduce you to Ms. Evelth’s amazing artwork. I first saw her work on the cover of Gastronomica in the Winter of 2003 but I will readily admit that it did not have that much of an impact on me then. Yes, it was a very pretty image of a jelly doughnut and one could easily think it was a photograph. That picture, by the way, is entitled Nigh and was painted in 1998.

It was several years later when I attended Art Basel in Miami Beach, Florida in December of 2007 and I saw it (or another from that series) in person that the full effect hit me. Her paintings are HUGE. The one I saw in person was more than 8′ square. And while she paints other things, she has become quite famous for her jelly doughnuts, which she has been painting for over twenty years.

These doughnuts are sensual; oozing vibrantly seductive jelly which seemingly begs to be touched and licked. These are sexual doughnuts with their gaping maws, opening to reveal the moist inner secrets of desire. Her paintings are hyper-realistic in their size, but a form of food porn that exudes sexual innuendo.

No, we are not celebrating Christmas yet. This is yet another mostly-obscure media reference which I wanted to share from American actor, writer, and folk musician Burl Ives.

I grew up listening to Burl Ives sing The Big Rock Candy Mountain on one of my 38 rpm records. From my childhood, I knew he was the narrator voice of Sam the Snowman in the classic Christmas classic television show Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  And when I embraced classic movies, saw Oscar® winner-Ives in his larger-than-life portrayal of Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country, Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and as the implacable Dr. Hasselbacher in one of my absolute favorite movies, Our Man In Havana.

As the banjo-playing folk musician, he penned dozens of folksy, down-home tunes and I stumbled on a feel-good ditty which inspired one to look at the big picture through doughnut philosophy:

When you walk the streets you’ll have no cares
If you walk the lines and not the squares
As you go through life make this your goal
Watch the donut, not the hole.

It’s written on the rainbow, in letters made of gold
Written on the rainbow, there’s wisdom to behold
My friend the little sparrow flew
Close enough to see
Written on a rainbow is this philosophy.

I’m off to jolly England where
Bulldogs all wear pants
Off to Pago Pago where alligators dance
My friend the little sparrow will
Take me where he flies
Even to the rainbow to read with my own eyes

I wish I could take credit for this photograph. The image is a well known sculpture in Seattle entitled Black Sun, dated 1969, by Isamu Noguchi. It is located across from the Seattle Art Museum and is considered one of the “most touched, caressed, and fondled pieces of public art in Seattle.”

And the sculpture is of a giant doughnut. It is reputed that the rock band, Soundgarten, wrote the song Black Hole Sun based on this sculpture. Most people line up the Space Needle through the hole and while I took a picture during my recent visit, mine is not nearly as gorgeous as this, taken by Sunrisesoup.

So I will let you contemplate this stunning photograph of a pretty fantastic piece of art. Here’s what it looks like without the mist:

Born 227 years ago, April 3, 1783 and died November 28, 1859. Author of noted works like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

And, no doubt, you are asking yourself, “Why the heck do we care about Washington Irving on a site devoted to doughnuts?”

A very good question and the answer lies in his History of New York. Written  and published in 1809, it contains two of the earliest known recorded usages of the word “doughnut” in literature:

Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast an enormas dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks – a delicious kind of cake – at present scarce known in this city, except in genuine Dutch families.

and

Every love-sick maiden fondly crammed the pockets of her hero with gingerbread and doughnuts; many a copper ring was exchanged, and crooked sixpence broken, in a pledge of eternal constancy: and there remain extant to this day some love verses written on that occasion, sufficiently crabbed and incomprehensible to confound the whole universe.

So, Happy Birthday Washington Irving! And thank you…

From time to time, it is my plan to share special video clips from movies and television which showcase my favorite indulgence. You will be surprised how many there are! But the inaugural post is a special one, coming from one of my favorite television shows of all time, Twin Peaks. A bit vintage now, I realize, but it was so full of odd food fodder, not the least of which were donuts. Enjoy!