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| Susan Swihart - Tazones Vegetariano from Eat on the Street |
Statement
In the series “Eat on the Street”, Susan Swihart explores the current street food revolution of food trucks in and around Los Angeles. These mobile restaurants have changed the landscape of dining in LA by creating a shared experience around food and dining. They range from hi-tech kitchens to traditional food carts. Mobile food carts originated in the late 1800s and were horse-drawn tamale carts, but today’s social outreach may be what’s now causing the exploding growth.
Social media is a major component to success in the mobile food business. Everyday Facebook and Twitter provide
locations, menus, and information about the individual trucks. With websites and apps used in conjunction with GPS,
it has become easy to locate, and sometimes part of the thrill, to find whatever ones stomach desires.
With county health officials and politicians trying to regulate and even ban the trucks from our city and some restaurateurs resentful about the emphasis on making money and not quality food, it’s uncertain how long this phenomenon will last. Susan is documenting this time and place in her city. By photographing the trucks from the diner’s perspective, the viewer feels part of the experience. You take in the landscape, see the other diners, creative truck graphics, menus and food.
Artist Bio
I was born and raised in suburban Massachusetts, just outside Boston. Growing up in a small, but busy home with my single mom, older brother, uncle and grandparents, I was hardly alone but eagerly sought out space to be by myself. I was happy to spend my days drawing and creating with whatever supplies I had.
Studying art, design, and film, I wound up in advertising - overseeing creative teams, art buying and production. Leaving my career to start a family, I have come back to my camera. I find inspiration in the people around me, the way we live, life at home and adventures in the world with my family.