b. 1971, Beaver, Pennsylvania. Lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland and Brooklyn, New York.

Amy O’Neill’s ongoing project Parade Float Graveyard (2004-) recreates floats and fragments of floats from past parades. The fragments include symbols such as flowers, animals, patriotic shields, scout insignias, and industrial gears. O’Neill’s work in this series is inspired by the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade, the popular New Year’s Day procession begun in 1890. The artist possesses an extensive archive of Rose Parade paraphernalia, including slides, records, and posters, which she uses as found material throughout the series.

For On Procession, O’Neill created a series of fragments in the shape of linked chains. While this icon is often connected with the fraternal order of the Odd Fellows, in this presentation the artist claims it as “her own” symbol, disassociated from any specific referent. She also has included a print taken from a parade advertisement, as well as footage of the 1965 Tournament of Roses parade. Most of the material in O’Neill’s studio archive dates from the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s, and the artist has stated that she is interested in visions of the future as captured in floats from that time period. O’Neill’s work looks to parade floats as temporary cultural monuments, which are resurrected and reexamined in the course of their remaking.

Image Credit:
Stills from 1965 Rose Parade, 2006,
super 8mm film transferred to DVD.
Courtesy of the artist.