THE POWER OF THE IMAGINATION

Art of the Ordinary Continued…

"THE COCKTAIL PARTY" BY SANDY SKOGLUND

from google image, for the sole purpose of education

Cheeto's, jellybeans and more: there is nothing that escapes the imagination of Sandy Skoglund for her wonderful, imaginary installations!  And once again we look at something as ordinary as snack food that becomes art.  What is it in Skoglund's brain that connected cheeto's to art?  Was she just sitting there one afternoon on her couch watching a movie eating cheeto's and thought,"hmmmm cocktail party=cheeto's=art installation?" 

I was once at an state art teachers conference in which Sandy Skoglund was the guest speaker.  I was absolutely mesmerized with her imagination and vision of creativity.  Her art is humorous, yet serious at the same time and I guarantee you will never see cheeto's and jellybeans the same way again. 

Sandy Skoglund    Jelly Bean Children                                      from google image, for education only

 It is perhaps that Sandy takes things from our normal world and recreates scenes that are recognizable in our lives and culture.  She enables us to have a different vision and that is what an artist does best in my thinking; an artist can help you see things or think of things in way you might never conceive.

For some of you if art is not realistic, or pretty then it is not art or not something you can feel comfortable with, but even artist who paint portraits or scenery realistically  can make us feel or see something in a different way.  Think of the Impressionists, the German Expressionists, or PoP Art.  You can recognize the scenes or things that are represented in the work, but the different styles have different messages, emotions and purposes they convey. And then there was the painter who did portraits of people using vegetables and fruits! Archimboldo's people were definitely weird looking, but recognizable also and definitely from ordinary things in the artist everyday life.  

Archimboldo                from google image for education only