"Barbara" by Johnny Madison, Transylvania, Louisiana 3 - 2000

This is Deborah Luster’s photograph of Johnny Madison’s sculpture, Barbara, likely made with whatever materials were on hand in Transylvania, Louisiana. I’m thinking about Johnny making the ship, the act of construction as a kind of world-building, a place of both memory and aspiration. Those little planks making up the hull of the ship, all those tiny repetitive motions adding up to something bigger. It's so quiet. I wonder how his hands worked, rough or gentle, confident or hesitant. Did he name her Barbara before or after he made her? I wonder if Barbara was a real person. Deborah captures all this, a photo of the ship, on a stage, a record and preservation of an idea, presented for all of us. It’s beautiful.