Melissa Haviland

Rules, Rules, Rules
wood engraving, screen print
14 x 11 in.

My artwork is both a celebration and exploration of cultural practices traditionally assigned to women, the work reveals underlying frustrations and obsessions in these prescribed roles.

In December of 2002, I finished a body of work, which revolved around my research of the wedding and the role of the wife in American culture. While aesthetically adhering to the typical white wedding, the work, a mixture of wood engraving prints and fabric sculpture, questions the reasons for and history of weddings and marriage.

I was interested in women’s stories and obsessions with the practice.

© Melissa Haviland