Mao's Organ 2007

Barbara Chase-Riboud made Mao's Organ, and the materials include bronze and fiber. The combination of shiny gold bronze and thick red fibrous material really makes you think about insides and outsides, surfaces and what lies beneath. The bronze is almost like a shiny shell, a protective layer. But the red fibers spill out, almost like entrails or arteries, exposed and vulnerable. You can imagine the process of construction, the hot molten bronze poured and molded, then the careful placement of the soft, tactile fibers. The contrast between the hard, reflective metal and the soft, absorbent fiber is striking. It's like a visual representation of contrasting ideas, maybe power versus vulnerability, or the public versus the private. This piece reminds me of Louise Bourgeois's sculptures, in that both artists use material in unexpected ways to explore complex emotions and ideas about the body. Art doesn't need to be easily digestible, it can be a bit messy and contradictory.