Research on Matthew Barney
Matthew is an American artist born in 1967 who works in drawing, sculpture, photography, and film. In his early works, he combined performance and video with his sculpture pieces. One of his most famous works includes the “Cremaster Cycle” (1994-2002), which is a series of five films that explore processes of creation. The films feature Barney in multiple roles, such as a magician, a satyr, a ram, Harry Houdini, and even Gary Gilmore, a notorious murderer. The order of the film begins with “Cremaster 4,” then “Cremaster 1,” “Cremaster 2,” and lastly “Cremaster 3.” Each sequence also has a title, which refers to the muscle that raises and lowers the testicles according to fear, temperature, or exterior stimulus. For example, “Cremaster 3” is called Consumption. Consumption took place at the Saratoga racetrack and at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Barney makes use of the space by transforming a group of horses into racing corpses at Saratoga, in which the horses race through a dream sequence. He also transforms the Guggenheim Museum into a set for an obstacle course video game. Barney has his own crew as well as artists who help him out with his films. For example, Richard Serra throws hot Vaseline down the Museum’s famous spiral ramp in Consumption.
The “Cremaster Cycle” also consists of a mix of history, mythology, and autobiography. It is amazing how Barney is able to come out of his shell in order to perform in his own artwork and convey symbols and images that are intensely integrated together. In a way, his performance and acting has more depth and beauty than actual actors.
Here are some links of his film online:
Making of "Cremaster 3: Consumption":
http://www.pbs.org/art21/watch-now/segment-matthew-barney-in-consumption
The actual "Cremaster 3: Consumption" film:
Part 1
Part 2
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