Marriage, a construction by Ivan Majdrakoff

Marriage is a sixteen inch square weathered gray pine box six inches deep and stabilized at all four front corners with two-inch flat corner braces. At the top back center sits a well-used radial saw blade with a protractor glued to one side and a large sanguine marble stuck in the center. On the outside, right panel is a flowered medallion; on the outer left side is a picture of a wolf. The back panel of the piece is a Chinese Checkers board. On the upper right inside corner hangs a newly-wed couple (upside-down). On the lower left inside bottom panel is glued a Kennedy Space Center, tourist button with an image of the American flag on top of the earth as seen from one of our rocket ships. On top of this button stands a tall, slender wine glass filled with about two hundred tiny objects such as: dice, golf driving pins, paper clips, faux diamond baubles, drill bits, campaign buttons, little crosses, tacks, cufflinks, a twenty-two caliber rodent cartridge, a fuse, several chains, washers and sub-miniature plastic people. On the bottom right stands an unused, antique radio fuse five inches high.

Equality is perfectly expressed in the square. Harmony ends with the square though because we cannot take our eyes off the menacing saw blade sitting on top punctuated by a cherry (marble?) and the protractor. What are we to make of this measuring tool called, significantly, a protractor? They used to say, if the wedding night ain’t good the marriage is doomed. They also used to say it hurt the girl to "lose" her virginity…sort of like being cut…and finally, if the honeymoon was bad the pain would be protracted. Is this a stretch? Every work of art is a partnership between the artist and the viewer. We each bring to the piece our own experience, sensibilities and sub consciousness. The saw could also mean a cutting off, separation from past. We must all weigh (measure) our loss of independence with new-found companionship. Both interpretations work and are not, by any means, mutually exclusive.

If life is difficult and complex marriage only magnifies the uncertainties exponentially as in a game of chess: never, in a thousand years repeating a move while always offering an infinite number of alternatives. One wrong move can cost us the game. Every move has to be considered in light of our own objectives but also in light of our partner’s (hopes and needs). Sometimes we have to choose between an egoistic victory or an affectionate, solacing loss. Chinese Checkers is, in some variants, an ancient game, perhaps as old as the custom of Christian marriage ("It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him." Genesis) It could also be said that marriage is the tomb of love. In any event, two players start on opposite sides of the board, approach each other, work through each other and eventually assume the starting position of the opponent (partner). There is no such thing as a draw; one side always has to lose (compromise).

When a couple gets married the man might have a pick-up truck full of stuff and perhaps the same for the girl. After they have been married only a year, they would need a moving van to cart away all their things. For some reason the joy of washing dishes together dissipates as quickly as the urge to stay in bed snuggling on Saturday mornings. A new boat, car and TV take the place of little pets and tender touches. The collegial boxes, stacked books, futons and incense are replaced by Ethan Allen tables, antique cabinetry and posture-pedics. What the hell does a diamond have to do with love? The size of the diamond a girl wants for an engagement ring is proportional to all the other junk she will want to accumulate once she is married. After a few years the unhappiness of the marriage can be gauged by the unnecessary things people own. A wine glass full of baubles.

The radio tube is in perfect condition; ready for communication. But who the hell uses radios with tubes anymore? Times have changed, rolls have changed, communication has changed. Both partners in a marriage now work; they talk to each other through e-mails and on their cell phones from their respective cars to and from work. The canon of marriage still exists but is it relevant?

Marriage begins with a prince kissing an angel and ends with a bald man sitting across the table from a fat woman. Anon.