Tyree Guyton’s Caged Brain: Detroit Institute of the Arts

A bird cage that is barely large enough for a bird,not round around the sides like I recall from cartoons,but flat in front and round up top, so it resemblesa door. The door centered between the narrowbars, obscured by rope spilling out, dangling.Follow the path of cords through the mouth of thiscage and watch the rope, stained in placeswith red, loop around itself and becomea sinuous clot. It’s as if serpents were trappedand died while mating inside the frame—rusted spokes and mesh on a rusted base.There are secrets here. A drawer on the left sidewith a small knob so brittled by decay it would snapoff if I tried to pull it away from its catch.