The Food Network, Television Appearance, April 21, 2002
Tonight I appeared on Food Network’s Unwrapped as part of a special potato-themed episode called Spuds Unwrapped. Seeing myself on national television talking about potatoes and performing was surreal. Host Marc Summers introduced me as a “Potato Artist” and called me “the potato’s number one fan.”
The segment featured an installation of my potato collection, potato-themed artworks, and documentation from EMERGENCY PÖTATOFÊTE, a performance organized with fellow graduate students at Stony Brook University. The event had originally been scheduled around a planned Food Network visit in September 2001. Following the events of September 11, it was unclear whether the production would continue at all. The title EMERGENCY PÖTATOFÊTE reflected both that uncertainty and my belief that gathering people together through food, humor, and art felt especially important during that difficult moment.
During the interview I talked about some of the reasons why I originally became interested in the potato, explaining:
“I started finding all sorts of connections, anthropological connections, all around the world, folklore dealing with the potato. The global significance of the potato became something for me that I could attach to.”
I also explained one of my favorite concepts:
“The potato seems to be this unifying symbol of egalitarianism. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t eat potatoes.”
The segment ended with Marc Summers holding one of the THINK POTATO t-shirts I had given him and saying:
“Here’s one of Jeffrey’s works of art. Looks pretty cool.”
Which made me laugh. Hopefully it might even lead to a few more sales of my potato t-shirt designs online.
The potato continues to drive me and delight audiences. It has introduced me to people I never would have met, conversations I never would have had, and opportunities I never could have predicted. Tonight’s television appearance feels like the latest chapter in an ongoing project that keeps growing in unexpected directions. What began as a curiosity has somehow become a nationwide conversation
Related Timeline Entry:
→ Featured on Food Network’s Spuds Unwrapped (2002)
Related Exhibitions:
→ POTATOLAB (2002)
→ EMERGENCY PÖTATOFÊTE (2001)
