Tasting Complexity Through Simplicity

One of the most salient schools of thought regarding what can be called the 'art of eating' is an attention to complimenting the natural flavors of a food. Instead of bogging down the taste in spices and fluff, many gastrophiles prefer their food prepared naked, simple, and without pretense; but at the same time deep and flavorful. Sushi is probably the most apposite dish in regard to satiating this preference as its success relies on the qualitative essence of only two primary ingredients: rice and fish. The best sushi, in this way, can be understood as simple sushi.

The above picture illustrates that principle in a few ways. Firstly, the stark relationship between sky and earth is visually reminiscent to that of the tiering of fish and rice found in nigiri sushi. On a deeper level, the picture as a whole plays with the aesthetic pleasure of simplicity, the evocation of a complex essence or identity from what, in this case, is only gently sloping hill topped  with a singular tree. Trading the sensational realm of sight for that of taste, an appreciation for sushi works much to the same end.

Just as there are no bells or whistles, flashing lights or labyrinthine cityscapes in the above photo, neither is the essence of sushi surrounded by a din. That's not to say it can't be dressed up but rather that, to those who value simplicity, unpacking the basics of its taste and aesthetics is already a task in and of itself. Basically, farming a level of complexity from what appears to be barren simplicity achieves much more than cherry-picking the details out of a taste or image overborne with contrivances.