On November 19, the Art Guys will commemorate their June 13, 2009 marriage to a plant with a tree dedication at the Menil Collection.
On that curious ceremony back in '09, the Guys -- Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing -- married a live oak tree at the Contemporary Arts Museum in an act of "behavior" art, or something, eventually finding the tree a home at the Menil.
Since that special day, there have been several more nontraditional marriages between humans and, well, non-humans. But these weren't for any high-minded artistic purposes or stunts, as far as we can tell. No, these were out of love.
Woman Marries An Amusement Park Ride
In August 2009, the world got to know Amy Wolfe, a then-33 church organist, when she announced her intentions to marry an amusement park ride. The groom was 1001 Nachts -- that gondola one that swings back and forth -- and could be found in the Knoebels Amusement Park in Pennsylvania. The resulting news spectacle shined a light on objectum sexuality, a condition where humans are attracted to inanimate objects. Indeed, Wolfe stated that she was "instantly attracted to him sexually and mentally" to the ride. Upon their betrothal, Wolfe planned on changing her last name to Weber, after the ride's manufacturer. She has had previous relations with spaceship, a church organ, and a banister, but no marriages with those.
Man Marries A Pillow
Now, this wasn't just any old throw pillow. In March 2010, a Korean man married his body pillow, which had a picture of a popular anime character, Fate Testerossa, printed on the side of it. Lee Jin-gyu, then 28-years-old, had fallen in love with the pillow, known as dakimakura in Japanese, and wed it in a widely covered ceremony. The pillow was outfitted in a white wedding dress for the occasion, naturally.
Man Marries A Video Game Character
Trading anime for video games, in November 2009, a man known by his online name, Sal9000, married a video game character. The bride -- Nene Anegasaki -- from the Nintendo DS game "Love Plus," a virtual dating game. Sal9000, then 27-years-old, had between "dating" Nene several months before tying the knot at a resort in Guam, during which the wedding was streamed live on the Internet before thousands of curious onlookers (and the media, as well). The groom wore a spiffy white tux, while the bride was present via a red Nintendo DS.
Man Marries A Cat
And in the animal category, a German postman married his beloved kitty, Cecilia, in May 2010, when he realized she was deathly ill. A video of that ceremony iis also available on Youtube for your viewing (dis)pleasure. An actress acted as registrar, since it's not legal to marry animals in Germany. Though the cat did sport a white veil for the occasion.
Tree dedication for "The Art Guys Marry A Plant" on November 19 at 10:30 am at the Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross Street. For information, call (713) 525-9400 or visit www.menil.org.
