Bonneville Brewery samples their Promontory Steamer with artist Mel Zeigler’s Hold Your Breath display. I nearly passed out trying to drink and retain a lung full of air following the artist’s bold instructions. Photo: Talyn Sherer

Fluid Art 2015 @ UMOCA

Art

What better way to spend a Friday night than to bask in two of my favorite things: craft beer and contemporary art? Fluid Art is one of the most unique events this city has to offer, as breweries from around the state are tasked with the incredibly difficult challenge of pairing their own liquid art with that of UMOCA’s current artist exhibitions. Sponsored by Utah’s Brewers Guild, Fluid Art happens year after year with an increasing demand for more and more breweries to join. As a participant/guest at such an event, you are tasked with the expansion of both mind and body as you take in the delicate flavors of a particular brew while finding the subtle relations between this liquid gold and the piece of art that lay before your eyes. If confusion about any particular pairing starts to set in, you can ask one of the brewers about the decision to pair their beer with a particular artwork. As for myself, I was more inclined to use the “brewtinerary” that was provided at the entrance to help guide me through each display. Fluid Art was an emotional night filled with confusion, laughter, misdirection and self-reflection as I passed from brewery to brewery igniting all my senses. The artwork itself is not to be taken in at first glance, which is why I am proud I had something to sip on while I stared at each piece for elongated moments at a time.