The art world is abuzz this week as The Museum of Modern Art in NYC finally released the long-awaited retrospective on 29-year-old Samantha Vinella’s time on the Whole30 diet, which premiered in late 2016.
The exhibit, an immersive and fully engrossing look back at Samantha’s time on the popular diet – from deciding one day that she ‘just like feels gross’ to ultimately completing the challenge ‘with like one cheat day to be honest’ – features an impressive collection of artifacts and unrivaled access to the artist.
“We wanted viewers to enter the exhibit and feel the anguish of being on day 20 of Whole30,” says MoMA curator Helene Boutard. “Luckily, Samantha left us with such an incredible breadth of posts, texts and voicemails that it’s not hard to dip into her mindset. She talked about being on Whole30 pretty much nonstop, and you can really feel that throughout this work.”
The exhibit will cover the entirety of Samantha’s work over the 30-day diet, throughout which she displayed an unwavering commitment to not eating bread, processed sugars, legumes or too much fruit. It also delves into the paleo chicken meatballs she pioneered, as well as her groundbreaking use of butternut squash.
“I was transported,” says one MoMA patron. “I really felt like I was at Janna’s bachelorette party when Samantha couldn’t drink the penis punch or like I was there when Samantha called her mom crying on day 23 because she was so hungry and pissed off. Wow.”
Reactions from Samantha’s were mixed, and the response to the controversial diet will be covered in a panel discussion on December 17th.
“She wouldn’t shut the fuck up about Whole30,” says Marta, a friend from college. “So I’m not surprised that now the entire fucking city is being subjected to the story.”
Samantha herself is just happy to have a chance to share her art with the world.
“When I look back on the many days I dedicated myself to the Whole30 I feel so proud,” says Samantha. “I’m glad the MoMA is giving people a chance to look back at my work and tell me how good I am for sticking to a dumb diet I heard about on the internet. I feel so blessed.”
Tickets to the special exhibit are selling out fast so get yours now. Visitors get to take home a collector’s edition featuring all 1,000 of Samantha’s Facebook posts about the Whole30 plus her favorite recipe for yams.
