Is it Art or Food?

Only in Los Angeles is a salad a work of art, and it’s not what you think.

The Getty Center is going to treat salad as art, from now through January 11, the Salad Garden performance art stage features artists making salads from more than 50 exquisite heirloom herbs, vegetables and edible flowers. And to top it off, the artists then get to eat their work! 

Julia Sherman, a photographer from Brooklyn, conceived the idea and she brought a dozen contemporary artists from across the country, including Larry Bell, Harry Gesner and Richard Irwin.  Why? 

Sherman says the salad garden is an opportunity for artists to learn about rare heirloom plant varieties and engage with these plants as their materials in a new way.

First up is Michael Parker, who already has experience working with produce.. In his "Juicework" exhibition earlier this year, Parker invited the public to squeeze juice from oranges, lemons and grapefruit using pretty handmade porcelain juicers that he made in his studio.

The Baker Creek seed bank in Petaluma is the source for the heirloom seeds, and were planted by California urban farming firm Farmscape. 

The Getty is poised on top of a hill adjacent to the 405 and overlooks miles of homes and the Pacific Ocean– frankly it is one of the best views in Los Angeles. Foodies are heading to the Getty to see the Salad Garden first-hand two afternoons a week and watch salad-making in the sculpture garden.