MARC PALLY

Rising 94 feet high, "Rainbow" by Tony Tasset speaks to the sense of optimism and well-being associated with rainbows in general and more specifically with the rainbow as imagined in the iconic "Wizard of Oz" film, created in the very movie studio that is now home to “Rainbow”. Tasset’s sculpture, commissioned by Sony Pictures Entertainment for its Culver City lot, celebrates popular culture and at the same participates in the fine art tradition, particularly the Light and Space movement that is associated with Southern California. Rainbows are pure light, prismatic wonders that appear due to fortuitous combinations of moisture and solar rays. The sculpture is steel but represents an ephemeral phenomenon. “Rainbow” salutes all art that is based on light, including the work of Robert Irwin and James Turrell as well as the films of Hollywood, whose light-based medium is the foundation of global popular culture.