Title: Inverted Pecans in Ceremonial Red (Rufus pecanosaurus), by
Roger Asay and Rebecca Davis (1988)
Location: Reid Park on the south side near 22nd Street.
Details: Commissioned by Tucson Parks and Recreation &
Tucson-Pima County Arts Council.
She Said:
These sculptures remind me of strange creatures walking through the
park where they are displayed. I like them; the red color sets them off
nicely, and the knobby "knees" underscore the look of legs. They don't
seem to be trees, particularly, though they do also remind me of
mangrove roots. Now, mangroves grow in swampy areas, which Tucson
assuredly isn't, but art is about imagination, so perhaps mangroves
aren't really too far out of line. (For more on imagination, be sure
the read my partners remarks below.)
He Said:
When I was a small child, I had the now-interesting notion that a
tree's roots below ground looked
exactly
like the branches above ground. If the tree branched into two six feet
above ground, then the roots branched into two six feet below ground,
and that every branch above ground was exactly duplicated in the ground
below. Where I got this curious, and as I now know to be false, notion,
I'm not sure.
When I look at these inverted pecans in ceremonial red, that's exactly
what I think of: nothing profound, nothing introspective, just this
funny, curious notion of the five year old I once was.
Copyright © 2005 S. Halversen. All rights
reserved.