Description:
woman; bird; costume/uniform
Label Text:
Hartigan's brushwork infuses "Bride and Owl" with energy. Black lines divide and connect her abstract yet recognizable life-sized figures. Hartigan began her painting career in New York City as an Abstract Expressionist. She turned away from total abstraction, however, stating in 1956, "I want an art that is not abstract and not realistic - I cannot describe the look of this art, but I think I will know it when I see it."
"Bride and Owl" was inspired by a wedding gown Hartigan found at a street market. Hartigan asked Japanese dancer Marion Jim (who appeared in the 1956 movie "The King and I") to pose for her wearing the traditional white Western-style gown. Searching for something else white to include, Hartigan borrowed a stuffed owl that belonged to choreographer Jerome Robbins. When asked about the presence of a groom Hartigan laughingly said, "Everyone knows the groom is very unimportant."
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1997.17 |
