The Silent Meal, Constraint #59
Invite someone to dinner. No phone, no music, no screen. Just the two of you, the food, and silence. See what happens.
Reference artist(s): John Cage.
The protocol
- Invite someone… a friend, a partner, a parent. Explain the constraint beforehand or not, your choice.
- Prepare a real meal. No delivery, no ready-made dishes. The care put into the meal is part of the constraint.
- At the table, place all phones outside the room or face down. No music, no background sound.
- Eat. Talk if you want, or not. Silence is not mandatory… the absence of screens is.
- After the meal, each person writes one sentence about how the dinner was different. Submit both sentences on the site.
Variants
- Do it alone. A carefully prepared meal, eaten in total silence.
- Do it with ten people. Collective silence at the table is a different phenomenon.
Post your trace on ouviepo.fr with the hashtag #ouviepo_TheSilentMeal