Art for many cities is what gives off identity, purpose, and style. This is no exception fro many parts of the city. Where Division Street meets 16th Avenue North, better known as the Music Row Roundabout, Musica a bronze statue sits in a grassy knoll at the center of traffic.
Musica is Alan LeQuire’s largest sculpture commission to date, and currently the largest sculpture group in the United States. The sculpture was unveiled in 2003 and was part of a urban renewal project focused on the Music Row area. It features nine nude figures all cast in bronze standing on a base of limestone. Five figures are jumping outward and four figures rise up above the others in the center. The pinnacle of the sculpture is the statue of the female holding the tambourine. The whole piece approximately weighs 10 tons and each figure is about 14-15 feet tall.
LeQuire’s vision was to create a statement about multiculturalism, diversity and racial harmony.The sculptures are modeled after real people. LeQuire created two Caucasian women and one man, an African-American man and woman, one Asian-American woman, one Native American man and both a Hispanic man and woman.
The work in the past has come under scrutiny because of the nudist scene. Some argue it is inappropriate but LeQuire says, “the work is entirely tasteful and not sexualized.” Still some local churches argue that city money can go to a sculpture of naked people but will not support anything of religious prominence.
The project was a $1.1 million dollars funded by local arts patrons. It was offered as a gift to a city and remains a permanent tribute to Nashville’s creative spirit and diversity.