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Sandy Skoglund

(Quincy, Massachusetts, 1946 - )

Revenge of the Goldfish

1981

Cibachrome print

27 7/8 x 35 1/2 in. (70.9 x 90.2 cm)

Collection of the Akron Art Museum

Museum Acquisition Fund

1982.1

More Information

Skoglund is deeply interested in the presence of artificiality and fiction in our daily lives. “Stories, no matter how short or long, are an invisible way that we try to understand the world and our lives,” she says. Animal forms in her vibrant, dream-like images often symbolize nature or human emotions. In the artist’s words, the scenario in Revenge of the Goldfishis “vague and multifaceted, depending to a large extent on the mentality of the spectator.” Skoglund’s arduous process was developed well before the photo-editing software Photoshop existed. To create 'Revenge of the Goldfish,' she crafted and painted 120 terracotta fish, constructed a life-size set, and directed human models—all specifically for the lens of her stationary large-format film camera.

Keywords
Color
Child
Bedroom
Dreams
Fish