What is spirit cooking?

Spirit Cooking

Spirit Cooking is a performance art piece and cookbook created by artist Marina Abramović. It gained notoriety and controversy in 2016 when it was linked to John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.

At its core, Spirit Cooking involves recipes that are a mixture of artistic expression and dark humour. The recipes often consist of bizarre and sometimes disturbing instructions, frequently involving bodily fluids and other unusual ingredients. Examples include "Fresh breast milk with sperm milk" and "Blood painted on the wall".

While Abramović describes Spirit Cooking as a form of performance art designed to explore themes of life, death, and ritual, critics interpreted the recipes literally. This contributed to the creation of conspiracy theories and allegations of satanism.

The origin of the controversy stems from emails released by WikiLeaks where John Podesta was invited to a "Spirit Cooking dinner" by Abramović. This invitation fuelled unfounded claims that the Clintons and their associates were involved in occult practices.

Abramović has stated that Spirit Cooking is merely a performance art piece and that the recipes are symbolic, not meant to be taken literally. She has consistently denied any connection to Satanism or other harmful practices. However, the stigma surrounding Spirit Cooking persists due to its provocative nature and the association with controversial figures.

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