Hurdy Gurdy 2008

Editor: This is "Hurdy Gurdy" from 2008, a mixed-media piece by Kenny Scharf. It's so vibrant and chaotic, almost like looking at a page torn from a futuristic comic book. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see layers upon layers of cultural memory embedded within those bright, swirling forms. The atom-like shapes, repeated words and cartoonish figures evoke a post-nuclear or perhaps even a digitally overstimulated age. Notice how the repeated phrase “Hurdy Gurdy”— a type of mechanical instrument from the medieval times —appears throughout the canvas. Scharf presents a continuous timeline of images and objects coexisting from medieval days to the nuclear era. Editor: So you’re saying the chaotic feel isn’t accidental; it’s communicating something about the times? Curator: Precisely. Scharf asks us to consider how our minds process a bombardment of information, of both retro and modern symbols. The cartoon-like creatures suggest a playful, almost childlike innocence, contrasted against this more serious cultural undertone. Does that relationship resonate with you? Editor: It does. The playful cartoon style almost distracts you from the deeper commentary at first. Curator: Exactly! Scharf uses familiar images to ease us into complex observations about society and history, and it continues through today. What will persist through time, and how? Editor: I never thought about it that way; it’s almost like cultural palimpsest. Curator: Indeed, this interplay keeps the piece vibrant and open to re-interpretation with each viewing. I'm excited to think about it. Editor: It is a thought provoking image.