Garden Party 

Lucia Heffernan created this artwork, called Garden Party, using oil on canvas. The three little birds perched on a branch create an amusing, almost surreal, scene. The birds, with their flowered hats and cupcakes, create a comical play on a traditional garden party. The imagery creates meaning through visual codes and cultural references. The location of the party is a natural scene but it is adorned with a string of party lights. In contemporary western culture, cupcakes and tea parties are common at children's parties. Heffernan's comical juxtaposition of animals in a human scene seems to comment on the social structures of our time. Her progressive style critiques the traditional institutions of art, and the comical style challenges social norms. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context. To better understand this artwork, a historian might research the meaning of animals in art or children's parties in contemporary culture.