"A Wedding on the Rocks" Ceremony, Stone Field Sculpture, Hartford
PhotographerPhotographed by
Wayne Fleming
(American)
SubjectPortrait of
Edward Stivender
(American, born 1946)
SubjectPortrait of
Dawn Whalen
SubjectPortrait of
Donna Donnelly
(American)
SubjectPortrait of
Timothy Keating
Date1978
MediumPhotography; color slide on plastic in cardboard mount
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Robert Gregson
CopyrightCopyright held by the Connecticut Historical Society. See object file for copyright transfer forms.
Object number2015.99.2.20
DescriptionSlide depicting the wedding ceremony of the performance art piece "A Wedding on the Rocks," which took place at the Stone Field Sculpture on Gold Street in Hartford. On the left is the reverend, portrayed by Ed Stivender. A man in a blue and white striped suit stands next to "groom" Timothy Keating, who is also wearing a suit. Next to Keating is Dawn Whalen, the "bride," who wears a white wedding dress, has orange orchids in her hair, and carries a bouquet of flowers. Next to her on the right is the bridesmaid or maid of honor, probably Donna Donnelly, in a green dress. She is carrying a basket of flowers. Onlookers can be seen in the background.
Collections
Label TextThursday is a Work of Art was a public art program in downtown Hartford that took place for eight weeks in the summer of 1977 and 13 weeks in the summer of 1978. Every Thursday, people who lived, worked, shopped, and socialized in the city were confronted with public performance art that changed each week. The art was sometimes political, often controversial and confrontational, and was meant to inject some life into the city center. It was created by Sidewalk, Inc., an offshoot of the Knox Foundation (a Hartford-based non-profit), and was funded by Knox, the federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), and local corporations, including United Technologies.
CETA was a federal law that provided money to train unemployed people for public service jobs, and in 1977 and 1978, the state of Connecticut received $3 million from CETA to employ people in the arts.
For two summers, Sidewalk, Inc. relied on CETA funding to bring its irreverent “art attacks” to people in Hartford, challenging them to interact with the city in unusual ways. The program was both loved and hated – the Hartford Courant covered it extensively, seemingly delighted by how silly and interactive it was, and simultaneously published letters to the editor in which people decried it for being trivial and making a mockery of one of its sponsors, United Technologies. In 1979, the CETA money had all but dried up, and United Technologies declined to renew its support of Thursday is a Work of Art.
NotesSubject note: Bob Gregson's video of Thursday is a Work of Art interviews and events (https://vimeo.com/12575676) depicts the wedding participants walking through downtown Hartford, then getting married amid Carl Andre's "Stone Field Sculpture." (They divorced hours later.) This event took place on July 13, 1978, and was written about in the Hartford Courant ("Sidewalk Art Weds Life, Fun in Summer Series," by Antoinette Martin, CETA was a federal law that provided money to train unemployed people for public service jobs, and in 1977 and 1978, the state of Connecticut received $3 million from CETA to employ people in the arts.
For two summers, Sidewalk, Inc. relied on CETA funding to bring its irreverent “art attacks” to people in Hartford, challenging them to interact with the city in unusual ways. The program was both loved and hated – the Hartford Courant covered it extensively, seemingly delighted by how silly and interactive it was, and simultaneously published letters to the editor in which people decried it for being trivial and making a mockery of one of its sponsors, United Technologies. In 1979, the CETA money had all but dried up, and United Technologies declined to renew its support of Thursday is a Work of Art.
The Hartford Courant (1923-1994); Jul 14, 1978; pg. 62).
Status
Not on view
