Saddle (artwork)

Saddle - Dorothy Cross (1993)

Saddle is a 1993 surrealist sculpture^[1] by Irish artist Dorothy Cross.^[2] It is in the collection of the Irish Museum of Modern Art having been acquired in 1994.^[3] It is created by the combination of found objects - specifically a metal frame, a horse's saddle and an upturned cow's udder.^[4] Virgin's Shroud, another work by Cross from 1993, also features cow's udders and is in the collection of the Tate.^[5]

It was perhaps no surprise to soon come upon the Freudian play of Dorothy Cross’ Saddle...There is something doubly unsettling about udders. On the one hand they remind me of large elongated nipples, which they are, and on the other they have a resemblance of a small thick penis. The Saddle also has a reference to the arse and so, all in all, the piece has a fascinating desire to confuse and unsettle, to engage and perturb.

— Steffan Jones-Hughes, ^[6]

References

1. "The surreal in Irish art". The Irish Times. May 27, 2011. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
2. "Saddle". www.europeana.eu. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
3. "Saddle". www.imma.ie. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
4. "Captivating Brightness: IMMA in Connemara for the 35th anniversary of the Clifden Arts Festival". www.imma.ie. Irish Museum of Modern Art. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
5. "Dorothy Cross, 'Virgin Shroud' 1993". Tate. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
6. "Exquisite Corpse: Display from the Collection". 2009.

Coordinates: 53°20′24″N 6°17′59″W / 53.3400°N 6.2997°W