2003.24.1.a-d, Matthew Barney, The Cloud Club, 2002, piano, concrete, potatoes, sterling silver

The Cloud Club resembles a nightclub piano in the Cloud club bar on the 66th floor of the Chrysler building in New York City, as seen in Barney's film Cremaster 3. The small stool may evoke childhood memories associated with piano recitals, that is, the act of performing in front of the world for the first time. Faced with the blank slate barrier of childhood, how does one break through to discover, on the other side, an adult world full of peril, promise, and beauty? The piano is tilted, unbalanced by mounds of potatoes, themselves potent yet tragic symbols of Ireland (a reference to Barney's heritage), of Idaho (where he was raised), and of the comfort and danger associated with the earth. Beautifully carved and elegantly designed forms are embedded in the piano's cover. Made of precious and rare materials, they include a stylized representation of the Chrysler building and several symbols associated with Masonic secrets.

Anna Katherine Brodbeck, ed., TWO X TWO X TWENTY: Two Decades Supporting Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art), 2018, 50.

Until 2003: Gladstone Gallery, New York, New York [1]

From 2003: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above

[1] See copy of check #10972 in Collections Records Object File 2003.24.a-d

Apply to objects where number equals 2003.24.1.a-d