La Musica Red Parkway 2007

Curator: At first glance, there's an intriguing drama playing out with textures and lines, a compelling mix. Editor: Today we are exploring Barbara Chase-Riboud’s "La Musica Red Parkway", completed in 2007. It’s a mixed-media sculpture that utilizes both wood and… rope, if I'm not mistaken? Curator: Yes, an unexpected coupling. That bright red rope, cascading down, seems to want to liberate itself from that stoic, dark mass it springs from, lending a theatrical weight to the whole form. Do you see connections to myth here, too? Editor: Myth perhaps, but what strikes me immediately is the labor invested. The carving marks, the rough hewn wood contrasting so intensely with the machine-made regularity of the red cord…it speaks volumes about contrasting production methods. High art meets the factory floor in an uneasy dance. Curator: That sharp contrast truly sparks an emotive discord. The sculpture's verticality evokes classical figures – heroes and deities reaching towards enlightenment or brought low – whilst the red echoes bloodlines and life forces throughout human history, binding the modern and primordial into a symbolic, unified whole. Editor: And think of the timber selection. What was the social history of acquiring such a large piece? Or the implications of the bright colour used? Is this hand painted or chemically dyed? The materiality throws open questions around access, choice, and historical forces brought to bear on even a piece like this. Curator: It pulls apart traditional divides, certainly. It also feels steeped in longing, perhaps even a veiled lament over forgotten histories embedded in the object. The color feels raw, immediate. Editor: Yes, histories shaped by access to specific materials and the social structures enabling it. In my experience, objects contain whole worlds – or, rather, open doorways into interrogating them! Curator: Indeed. Thank you. Editor: And to you, thank you.