The Marriage of Frank & Nina
Mixed Media (Oil Painting, Marker and Photographs on Cardboard Cutouts)
Inspired by the Hudson River School of painting, this is a concept for a wedding portrait for my high school friend, Frank. At the time of his marriage, and presently, Frank was a dock boss on the piers of Newark, and he is without a doubt the least likely person to be wearing a tuxedo. And yet there he was, wearing one on his wedding day. My idea was to highlight this incongruence by placing the happy couple in front of a phony, painted plywood photo prop - like the ones that you see at carnivals - perched in front of a scenic overlook. This is literally overlooking the Hudson River – near where I grew up.
I added to this scene, the Indian Point nuclear plant, and the Bear Mountain bridge, to show modern man’s intervention. Everyone in this scene is a transient visitor to this environment, so the idea was to place them on top of the painting – almost the same way that you would with the Colorforms that we played with as children. I have placed an all-American family on the left and a biker couple on the right, next to Frank and Nina, to suggest the two directions that their life might take. 
