Spring 2006

Bridget Milligan's Reality Tales

Bridget Milligan spent her 2004 sabbatical leave from The College of Wooster looking for the perfect castle, the quintessential magical wall, the ideal mysterious landscape. She and her mother (who posed as the woman-child in the photographs) traveled to Ireland, Pennsylvania, and throughout Ohio. Milligan’s 15-piece Reality Tales challenges viewers to revisit the fairy tale characters from their childhood.

For example, we all know what Snow White looks like. Blue and yellow frock, a cap of black hair, a blue bird sitting on one finger. But not so fast. Throughout the years, many cultures have created hundreds of images of our favorite characters, with just as many story variations. The tales have one thing in common, said Milligan.

“These stories reflect and affect who we are. They’re a value system, really. The stories are everywhere—in movies, music, advertisements, and TV. For example, the three women in the TV hit ‘Sex in the City’ are always looking for Prince Charming to rescue them,” she said.

Just as today’s prince-quest stories target adults rather than children, so did the original tales, said Milligan. “Before fairy tales were transplanted into children’s bedtime stories, they were the pulp fiction and television of the folk. They were told around the fireside to distract people from their monotonous daily chores. No wonder they were filled with murder, deceit, and betrayal.

“As much as these stories are about the fantasy of candy houses and magic glass slippers, they are about the dangers that exist within the candy-covered houses. They reveal a much darker world that is often overlooked or forgotten.”

Milligan used a traditional, wet-based darkroom for her silver gelatin prints and applied a gold tone to the photographs, giving them a timeless quality. Her medium-sized Hasselblad camera gave her the flexibility to scramble over hill and dale.

Milligan’s Reality Tales have been exhibited at The College of Wooster, Houston Center for Photography,Texas Woman’s University, and Rockhurst University in Kansas City. She expects the collection to grow and anticipates working with less familiar stories and more ambiguous images. Also, she said she hopes the additions will speak equally to men and women. “The female model’s presence is a consistent thread that pulls the elements together and gives continuity to the work. But I don’t want the collection to be gender specific, so I may need to rethink the model in the future.

“I’m happy with what I’ve created. But now it’s done. Now I want to move on to new tales.”