Serpent Mound, Ohio, 1982

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Serpent Mound, Ohio, 1982

Artist Marilyn Bridges (American, born 1948)

Date1983

Dimensionsimage: 14 7/8 x 18 5/8 in. (37.8 x 47.3 cm)
sheet: 15 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (40.3 x 50.5 cm)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Orser

Object number

2003.48

Not on View

Label TextSerpent Mound, located near Chillicothe, Ohio, is the largest effigy mound in the world. The embankment of rock and earth is thought to be built by the indigenous Fort Ancient culture between 1000 and 1500. It measures more than 1,300 feet in length and is approximately 20 feet wide and 4 feet high. It represents a serpent about to swallow an oval object thought to represent an egg. Effigy mounds in the shape of birds, bear, deer, bison, lynx, turtle, and panther have also been found. They are most prevalent along the Upper Mississippi and eastward to Lake Michigan. Marilyn Bridges usually takes aerial photographs at a low altitude from a small single-engine aircraft in the early morning or late afternoon to capture the depth-making shadows. Although she flies with a co-pilot so that she can concentrate on the photographs, an early misadventure prompted her to take flying lessons. She generally uses a 6 x 7 Pentax medium format camera or a Leica 35mm, and has been known to take her photographs out of an open door while an assistant holds on to her legs to keep her from sliding out of the plane.Published Referencescf. Markings: Aerial Views of Sacred Landscapes, Photographs by Marilyn Bridges (New York: Aperture Foundation, 1986): 65. cf. Holland Cotter, "Marilyn Bridges - Markings," The New York Times, October 3, 2003.Exhibition HistoryThrockmorton Fine Arts Gallery, New York, "Marilyn Bridges, Markings," October-November 2003. Toledo Museum of Art, New Works on Paper, Dec. 2005 - Mar. 5, 2006. Toledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012.

TMA, Paper Roses: Garden-Inspired Works on Paper. Feb. 21-May 18, 2014.

Comparative ReferencesSee also: Markings: Sacred Landscapes from the Air, Photographs by Marilyn Bridges (New York: Aperture Foundation, 1986): 65. cf.: Holland Cotter, "Marilyn Bridges - Markings," The New York Times, October 3, 2003.