Babies at Paradise Pond

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Babies at Paradise Pond

Artist Sandy Skoglund (American, born 1946)

Date1995

DimensionsOverall: 26 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. (67.3 x 80 cm);
Image: 20 x 25 1/2 in. (50.8 x 64.8 cm)

MediumPhotolithograph

ClassificationPrints

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1996.11

Not on View

Label TextSculptor, installation artist, and photographer Sandy Skoglund began working as an artist, dealing with repetitive, process-oriented art production. In the late 1970s Skoglund’s desire to document her conceptual ideas led her to teach herself photography. This resulted in a kind of “staged photography” that she developed into installations of brightly colored, surrealist interiors or landscapes, often utilizing food or sculpted animals. In creating Babies at Paradise Pond Skoglund first sculpted several large-scale babies and then tediously staged them one by one in front of Paradise Pond at Smith College. To create the final composition, Skoglund set up a tripod and camera on a hill overlooking the scene to use the viewfinder as a frame while setting up the installation. Once the sculptures were placed where she wanted them, Skoglund added human models to the scene to further demonstrate the peculiar scale of the babies. Merging the imaginary with the natural landscape, Skoglund’s work blurs how our eyes perceive the world around us.