Faith Ringgold
Wedding on the Seine, 1991
Medium/Presentation: Acrylic on Canvas, Tie-dyed, Pieced fabric border
Big Idea/Subject: Feminism
Major Theme: Social norms
Visual Components: Color, line, balance, pattern
Category: Fine Arts
Description/Interpretation:
The painting is a large-scale image on canvas, with a fabric border. Thread has been sewn into the face of the fabric to mimic the look of a traditional quilt. The scene depicts a landscape of Paris, with a view of the Seine river. There are three bridges that cross the river, one large, detailed bridge in the foreground and two in the background. The buildings line the horizon and sit farther back into the image, and the focus is primarily on the main bridge in the foreground, which is flanked by greenery. There is a bride figure on the main bridge, presumably tossing her bouquet over the side into the river. On the top and bottom of the scene are words, a set of panels that tell a story of the subject in the quilt. The pieces of fabric that border the scene are various floral patterns.
The style of the painting appears simple, with rough details and line work, and little to no shading, giving a flat look to the scene. The color use is varied, but the use of blue and green for the river and trees is dominant. The bride, who is the subject of the painting, is placed in the bottom third of the image and is painted in a bright white, drawing the eye to her. The wind appears to blow her veil and dress, adding the drama of the piece and the “runaway bride.”
The fact that Ringgold depicted this bride as the only figure in the piece symbolizes the feminist aspect of this painting, and the fact that she is rejecting the social norm and gender stereotype of the “wife.” She is throwing away literally and figuratively her flowers, that represent her typical feminine role. It is interesting that Ringgold chose her subject to actually go through with the marriage, which goes against the subject’s desire to become an artist and not a wife and mother, only to become a widow a few short years later and continue her life as an artist, but with two children to take care of. It is almost as if Ringgold was paying homage to the influence of European art on her artistic education, that she would like to reject it as a person of African descent, but accepts that it is at least a small part of her American experience and she will always have small reminders of that.
Use in Teaching:
This piece can be used to examine the role of women in society and in the art world. It is rich with symbolism of the American, European and African experience and can be analyzed from many perspectives. The bride can be seen as a rejection to social norms or as a figure representative of African American women and their relationship with society in general. The use of traditional material in a non-traditional way is another aspect that I think can be examined in a classroom. The dynamic of something having more than one perspective is a strong theme and can be used to show how everyone has a unique voice and stories can be interpreted in many ways.
A possible lesson idea would be to identify a students own cultural traditions and create a piece that addresses this using a personal narrative. For example, a student may celebrate holiday traditions each year with family, but feel that they do not belong or want to escape from the environment, or reimagine the tradition in a new way. Exploration with this idea would be a great way to give students an opportunity to critically examine their own traditions, feelings, identity and social norms.
Discussion Questions:
What materials were used in the creation of this piece?
Why do you think the artist chose these particular materials?
How would you interpret the scene with the bride? Did your interpretation change after you read the accompanying text?
Although the story of the painting is written out for us, do you think it can be interpreted in more than one way?
How do you feel the artists style of painting contributes to the feelings in the painting? Is it complimentary or contrasting to the subject/theme?
How does the artist’s use of color, pattern and composition contribute to the meaning of the piece?