“My favorite dish to prepare is something on the takeout menu”*…
Who drew that winking chef on your pizza box? Anne Ewbank investigates…
Takeout containers—especially for pizza, Chinese food, and sushi—have an iconic art and style. Granted, it’s not always the most elegant or politically correct, but some of these designs are now instantly recognizable. So, today, we investigate the origins of the smiling chef of pizza-box fame, the ubiquitous red pagoda of American-Chinese takeout, and the surprising elegance of plastic sushi trays…
The iconography of take-out: “The Hidden Histories of To-Go Container Art,” from @AEwbank in @atlasobscura.
* Tyler Perry
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As we forgo the extra cheese, we might send expressive birthday greetings to Ralph Steadman; he was born on this date in 1936. An artist and illustrator renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons, and picture books, he is probably best known for his collaborations with Hunter Thompson, especially on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72.
But Steadman also dabbled in comestible labeling; he brought his gonzo sensibility to the art for Flying Dog beer and designed the V logo used on Flying Dog’s packaging since 1995… work that occasioned censorship by the Colorado State Liquor Board, then an appeal by Flying Dog that was, in 2001, settled in Flying Dog’s favor.
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