Curated by Kim Harlan Tassie The desire to obtain warmth, shelter and sustenance, first discovered at the nipple, is an instinctive pursuit that lasts a lifetime. "Methods of Consumption" looks at the myriad implications food and eating hold for the human condition. Presented as a prologue is Skip Arnold's Skip Eats an Olive (1985, 2:10 mins). This x-rayed performance presents eating in its most fundamental form as an entirely physical act; removed are the psychological and philosophical nuances, causing it to become a viscerally tangible occurrence. In weaving together stories of myth, interviews with experts, flights of fancy, and facts, From the Root Up (1991, 38:32 mins) by Julie K. West provides a whimsical and reflective view of the food we eat and its potential to connect us to the world we live in. The tape asserts that the contemporary trend of feeding plants a diet of chemicals creates food that is deaf, dumb, and detached from the rhythms of the planet. For millions of people tormented by their appetites and lack of self-esteem, eating represents a constant struggle for control. Walter Brock and Stephen Roszell's A Season in Hell (1990, 60 mins) documents three years of one woman's ongoing battle with bulimia and anorexia, drawing us into her suffocating, often surreal world. Through conversation, testimony, and confession, this videotape about food, love and security constructs a chilling picture of an obsessed woman, while underscoring the influence of interpersonal expectations and the mass media. Cultural intolerance and America's skewed meat-eating perspective are the primary concerns of Michael Cho's Animal Appetites (1990, 18 mins). This ironic, witty videotape focuses on two Cambodian immigrants arrested for eating a dog, and the subsequent passing of a state law establishing the illegality of killing "pets" for food. - Kim Harlan Tassie Kim Harlan Tassie is an independent curator of video.