"Junk Food" is the name of a new acrylic painting by German-born Manfred Hönig. The photo you see below is of the painting in an unfinished state. The painting is part of a "live" exhibition where you can see the painting evolve as Manfred works on it.

Click here to see the latest stage of his painting.



Here's what Manfred has to say about his new work...

After a longer absence i am back at work. Actually i spent some time in the mothercountry of junkfood, as well as in Central America. A landscapepainter has to travel from time to time... Junk food is about waste, industrial processing and the ever more hurried life of the modern homo sapiens. It invades everywhere. Travelling in the remotest areas in the states, in tiny desert villages, you will find some junkfood outlets. So my vision is that some day this might end. Fads come and go and life is always changing. Maybe knowledge about this special phenomenen and the advertising tricks used to push junkfood as something desirable into our consciousness will help. Whoever came up with the idea, that it is desirable to produce food that tastes the same all over the world? So this painting will be about the age of junkfood, from the 50ies till sometime in the future, when nobody will gorge himself on junk any longer. Awareness has to be created now, for a future generation.

I can respect his thoughts, though I have a different viewpoint...

Junk food is here becuse people want junk food. Manufacturers won't make this stuff unless they know people will buy it. Nobody is forcing us to buy it. There are still plenty of stores that sell fresh food, and plenty others that sell organically grown food. But when you let freedom reign, people vote with their money.

In that sense, the evolution of junk food is the product of a free society. The only societies where no one eats junk food are those that force their people to do so. And in governments that impose "big brother" type laws, who are the leaders to decide what's good for us? What makes their actions correct?

What makes a McDonald's hamburger "junky" anyways? It's just bread, meat, vegetables, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. Those ingredients used in any other dish might be considered healthy.

I suspect what Manfred is actually trying to express is the far-reaching tentacles of America's corporate empire. I suppose if you live in Germany and witness a McDonald's restaurant taking over a family-owned cafe, you might be angry. But don't blame America. Blame your fellow German citizens for voting with their money.