Twelve-Wheel Waggon Wheel Chandelier 2004

Jason Rhoades created "Twelve-Wheel Waggon Wheel Chandelier" to offer a spectacle of language and form that challenges conventional notions of beauty. At first glance, this piece might seem like a chaotic jumble of wagon wheels and neon signs, but Rhoades was deeply invested in exploring the American West. This was a landscape of both promise and exploitation. The wagon wheel, an iconic symbol of westward expansion, becomes entangled with the dazzling allure of neon lights, evoking the tensions between progress and the commodification of culture. Rhoades creates a space that is not just seen, but viscerally felt. The bright glow and the dangling wires can feel overwhelming. The chandelier becomes a symbol of how cultural symbols and meanings are constructed, deconstructed, and ultimately, become part of our shared, albeit complicated, identity.