You guys, somehow I managed to get American artist Sandy Skoglund on my podcast! I actually learned about Sandy in an art history class waaaay back in the early 90’s, and here we are today, chatting!? We talked for over 2 hours, and every story was a gem. Aside from hearing about how her installation photographs filled with cheese doodles and neon green cats came to be, I also found out that she worked at Disneyland’s SpaceBar in high school, painted baby faces on cakes in Detroit to pay for grad school, and she even did a little go-go dancing to help cover the rent for her New York studio… and that’s just the tip of the fabulous iceberg! Listen right up there under Sandy and her plaster cats, or subscribe to ART FOR YOUR EAR on Apple Podcasts.

First up, let’s go back to one of her first series of photographs… shot in a mobile home in Upstate New York in the summer of 1977:

See, Sandy said she went out and bought dolls. She wasn’t kidding!

Next, “PEAS ON A PLATE”… and more very organized food:

… and, from peas and carrots, one would obviously move onto spoons and hangers:

Ah! Iconic “Sandy Skoglund” pieces… and to find out they were shot in the same tiny apartment turned studio. So. Cool! Speaking of which, a tiny peek at Sandy’s huge portfolio of photographed installations, starting with her green cats, of course:

Yesssss! Plaster cats, clay fish, chewed gum, cheez doodles, and soooo much pop corn.

And finally, this is “The Wedding”. Walls coated in strawberry jam, floor covered in marmalade:

Whoa. That is A LOT of strawberry jam ‘n marmalade. Genius. Thank you so, so much to Sandy for coming on the podcast and sharing so many wonderful stories; thanks to Create Magazine for supporting this episode; and as always, huge thanks to you for listening! There will be a brand new episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR in two weeks.

ps. I HAD to include this… the discarded cat on a stranger’s windowsill! Ah-mazing.

Other links:

1. Sandy’s site
2. Sandy on Instagram
3. Jellybean Performance, 1975
4. Smith College
5. University of Iowa
6. Sorbonne University, Paris
7. Claes Oldenburg, Artist
8. Petah Coyne, Artist
9. Create Magazine / January 30th deadline