Artist Critique

Fresh Hybrid by Sandy Skoglund 

For this piece, I can tell that the trees with legs are furry and the texture of the ground soft and lush, imitating thick green grass in a meadow. The five trees that appear throughout this photographic image are all standing in different poses or skipping. There are figures that look like they are made from the same material as the trees. However, four figures; a young boy, an older male and female, walking along side a dog. The artist used pipe cleaners for the ground and the background, while fur was used on the trees. If you look at a close of the top of the trees,  you realize that the yellow blossoms on the trees are furry little chicks.

Skoglund uses an analogous color scheme blues greens, turquoise, yellow, orange and red-orange. The blues and greens of the trees connect with the background in the installation, while the yellows and oranges on the manikins tie in with the grass swaying to the left giving the installation the feeling of whimsy and shows movement. The trees having legs standing in different poses or skipping around gives the installation an automatic feeling of this piece being unrealistic, along with the the unrealistic colors. The vertical lines in the trees leads your eye to the yellow blossoms in the trees.

The meaning behind this piece is described on Skoglung's website; it states, "the materials strive to transform nature into a cornucopia of human pleasure with ubiquitous soft and fluffy surfaces. As if on a spring day, the sculpted hybrid trees blossom with impossible bounty and cheer."

This piece is very creative, especially with the materials, but the textures kind of make me feel uneasy because it looks like that cheap fur used for those colorful pillows that look like velvet. Although I don't like the texture, this piece is unique  and wonderfully displayed.