SANDY SKOGLUND- "THE WEDDING"

“The Wedding” is a photograph taken by Sandy Skoglund in 1994. Skoglund is an American born photographer who is known for the highly structured sets she makes for her photographs. For “The Wedding” set, Skoglund decorated both the walls and floors with 300 ceramic roses. She also covered the walls with strawberry jam and layered the floor with orange marmalade. Currently, this photograph is exhibited in the New Orleans Museum of Art.

This photograph is taken in a rectangular room and includes two people, a bride and a groom, multiple roses, and a wedding-cake. The room has two visible walls that are both covered with red jam and a floor that is orange from the marmalade. The bride is dressed from head to toe in red, wearing a red wedding gown, red veil, and red shoes, while holding a bouquet of red roses. In this photograph, the bride is looking down about her future husband’s feet. It also looks like she is trying walk forward as she has one foot lifted off the floor; however it appears that she is stuck in the sticky marmalade. Just like the bride, the groom is wearing all red including a red suit and shoes. He is in a position so that his back is towards the camera, but he is looking at the bride’s face. It also seems that he is going to walk forward, towards his bride. Although the main focus is the people, another focus is the large wedding cake in the front middle of the photograph. The entire cake is red, including the icing which is formed into swirly, rose decorations. Overall, the main color of red and the repetition of roses unifies “The Wedding” photograph.

Many art elements are incorporated into Skoglund’s “The Wedding.” For example, many different kinds of lines can be found in the photograph. These include the straight lines of the wall, the curved, swirly lines made by the red icing on the cake, and the flowing lines to suggest the movement of the bride’s dress. There is also an abrupt line implied by the color changes between the orange floor and the red walls. One of the main art elements used in this photograph is color. The colors fit under the warm colors category with the dominant color being red. All the other colors are made from shades of red and then there is a hint of orange from the floor. The red shades result from the combinations of red and black, while the lighter orange is a combination of white and orange. However, the value contrasts are soft and not extremely noticeable. The colors are opaque, meaning they are solid and cannot be seen through, and can also be found in the real world. Many of the shapes that occur in this photograph can also be found in the real world. These are referred to as organic shapes and appear in the flower formations and any other natural objects in the photo. The other kinds of shapes are geometrical like the circular cake or the triangular piece of cake, open like the cake that has holes cut through it, and closed like the table or human figures. Textures are also visible in the work especially on the walls and the floor. Since they are made of jam and marmalade, they have a sticky appearance with a slightly bumpy texture. In comparison, the cake has a smooth texture with the soft, swirling icing. While the distinct silver flowers, have a sharp look and uneven texture about them. Of course the textures are simulated, where the textures can only be seen and not felt, because the artwork is a photograph. However, there are no real patterns other than the repetition of the roses throughout the image. Since this is a photograph, the actual piece of art is two dimensional. Although, the set created for this photo was three dimensional. This real depth is evident because the silver roses in the back are smaller than those in the front. Also, from this certain perspective, the large cake is shown in front of the smaller people.

Many of the topics discussed under subject matter and art elements are both related to one another and different from each other. Many similarities are found in the repetition of rose shapes, the main color of red distributed throughout the photograph, and the sticky, uneven texture of the walls and floor. Also many lines are alike including multiple lines that create movement especially in the woman’s dress and the straight lines that define the wall and floor. However there are also many differences in the photograph including contrasts in the color. Most of the colors are warm and bright but different shades of red are created by adding mainly black to darken the tones. For example, the wall is a brighter red, while the cake has a darker red and is filled with shadows. There are also contrasts in the size where objects towards the front of the photograph appear larger and things in the back are smaller. There is movement in the work since the living forms appear to be taking steps toward each other. For the bride, the movement is suggested in the flowing lines of her dress and her lifted foot. However, there really are no elements that lead ones eyes through the photograph. The dominant figures including the people and the cake catch ones eyes first and seem most important. Balance is also contributed to the photograph by the repetition of the roses on both the walls and the floors. The overall balance of the photo is asymmetrical with the main figures to the right side, shifting the work slightly off balance. Lastly to describe the relationships, the subject of love is emphasized through the use of the warm red colors and the dominant flower forms. This photograph merely captures a significant moment between a bride and a groom, showing that they love each other.

Overall, the photograph has a calm and melancholy mood, even though it is of two lovers. The bride and groom appear to be literally “stuck” in love, since their movement is limited by the sticky marmalade on the floor. I believe this image shows that although they might be afraid of getting married, they are definitely in love, which is suggested by the dominant red color and the use of flowers throughout. It also shows them taking steps towards each other, which is a promising sign of progress.

Skoglund’s “The Wedding” photograph clearly expresses the theme of love, shown through repetition of red, known as the color of love, and the roses, the flower of love. Her original ideas are evident in the set that she created for this photograph. Using strawberry jam on the walls and orange marmalade on the floor adds interest and texture to the work. “The Wedding” picture as a whole is very appealing and Skoglund’s unique ideas produced a great result.