La Vie est Douce by Sorin Eugen David (http://elia-artschools.org/festival/work/-la-vie-est-douce-) is sweet. Literally. What is it about food pictures that makes us go bananas? (pardon the pun) Is food not just another prerequisite for living? We don't go nuts about pictures of air. On the other hand, maybe food is more like sex, a bodily craving made thoroughly enjoyable by evolution, because it is extremely valuable (instrumental even) for our survival. But why isn't breathing as pleasurable as eating or sex? Hmm, I'll probably lose some sleep over this one.

Where is art on the pleasure scale? Some people claim that artistic enjoyment is much higher than any other joy, while others swear by sex, candy and dancing. Well, art is certainly a different type of pleasure and most people enjoy it in some form or another, but I don't think many would exchange it for food and other bodily delights. Truly committed artists are a rare breed. Seems like multitasking wins this round.

And when talking about beauty, one cannot ignore nature. When has nature ever gotten a colour or a shape wrong? Take that, artists! An interesting angle on the subject is offered by Land(e)scape by Eline Cautreels (http://elia-artschools.org/festival/work/landescape), which challenges the way we normally perceive beautiful landscapes, proving that beauty is in the eye of the artist.