The Wife
Kathleen Madigan. The Wife, 2007.
Description:
The Wife, inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem of the same name, shares the poem's first line, written in thread across the top,
'She Rose To His Requirement
and Became
Blank Canvas.'
She is "plugged into" her husband's needs, her face a mixer, looking outward to see what is required. Her body is the dress and she is thoroughly defined by her role and isolated by the immensity of it. The scene is depicted on the back of a wedding quilt, showing the "underbelly" of a marriage.
This piece is ceiling-mounted so the viewer can walk around the scene, and the figure is normally exhibited partially rolled-up into the wedding quilt.
Medium:
Mixed Media
Tags:
role, marriage, underbelly, canvas, husband, wife, Emily Dickinson, white, plug, wedding dress, Betty Crocker, mixer, wedding, ceiling, quilt
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