Matthew Barney
Encyclopedia
Matthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture
, photography
, drawing
and film
. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance
and video
. Between 1994 and 2002 he created the Cremaster Cycle
, a series of five films described by Jonathan Jones
in The Guardian
as "one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde
cinema."
. He lived in Boise, Idaho
from 1973 to 1985, where he attended elementary, middle, and high school. His parents divorced and his mother moved to New York City
, where he would frequently visit, and where he was introduced to the art scene. In 1989, he graduated from Yale University
. His earliest works, created at Yale, were staged at the university’s athletic complex. In the 90s, Barney moved to New York, where he worked as a male model—more notably for J.Crew catalogues—a career that helped him finance his early work as an artist. Barney lives with his partner, singer Björk
, with whom he had a daughter in 2002.
.
A series of ten vitrines containing drawings, Drawing Restraint 8 was included in the 2003 Venice Biennale and prefigured the narrative development for Drawing Restraint 9
(2005). A major project consisting of a feature-length film with soundtrack composed by Björk
, large-scale sculptures, photographs and drawings, Drawing Restraint 9 was built upon themes such as the Shinto
religion, the tea ceremony, the history of whaling
, and the supplantation of blubber with refined petroleum for oil. A full-scale survey of Barney's work through Drawing Restraint 9 was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
in 2006 and included over 150 objects of varying media. Drawing Restraints 10 – 16 (2005–07) are site-specific performances that recall the earlier Yale pieces.
Drawing Restraint 17 and 18 were performed at the Schaulager
, Basel
in 2010 in conjunction with the exhibition "Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail," a survey of the Drawing Restraint series through Drawing Restraint 18.
(1994–2002) is a project consisting of five feature-length films that explore processes of creation. His concentration in sculpture is accentuated by his use of video. Barney uses video to perfect his sculpture by evaluating positioning, lighting, size and shape, using video as a means to his end product of sculpture Barney’s long-time collaborator Jonathan Bepler composed and arranged the films’ soundtracks. The cycle unfolds not just cinematically, but also through the photographs, drawings, sculptures, and installations the artist produces in conjunction with each episode. Its conceptual departure point is the male cremaster muscle
, which controls testicular contractions in response to external stimuli.
The project is rife with anatomical allusions to the position of the reproductive organs during the embryonic process of sexual differentiation: Cremaster 1 represents the most "ascended" or undifferentiated state, Cremaster 5 the most "descended" or differentiated. The cycle repeatedly returns to those moments during early sexual development in which the outcome of the process is still unknown. In Barney's metaphoric universe, these moments represent a condition of pure potentiality. As the cycle evolved over eight years, Barney looked beyond biology
as a way to explore the creation of form, employing narrative models from other realms, such as biography
, mythology
, and geology
. The photographs, drawings, and sculptures radiate outward from the narrative core of each film installment. Barney's photographs—framed in plastic and often arranged in diptych
s and triptych
s that distill moments from the plot—often emulate classical portraiture. His graphite
and petroleum jelly
drawings represent key aspects of the project's conceptual framework.
's novel Ancient Evenings
. Guardian of the Veil took place on July 12, 2007 at the Manchester Festival in England
. REN took place on May 18, 2008 in Los Angeles
. His most recent performance, KHU, the second part in his seven-part performance series in collaboration with Bepler inspired by Ancient Evenings
took place on October 2, 2010 in Detroit.
In June 2009, a collaboration between Barney and Elizabeth Peyton
, entitled Blood of Two, was performed for the opening of the Deste Foundation
's exhibition space, the Slaughterhouse, located on the Greek island Hydra
. The two-hour performance involved divers retrieving from a nearby cove a vitrine containing drawings which had been submerged for months. A funeral-like procession of fishermen carried the case up a winding set of stairs. At one point, a dead shark was laid on the case, and the fishermen proceeded to the gallery space, carrying the case and shark, accompanied by the onlookers and a herd of goats. At the Slaughterhouse, the case was opened, water poured out, and the drawings revealed. The shark was eventually cooked and fed to the guests.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and video
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
. Between 1994 and 2002 he created the Cremaster Cycle
The Cremaster Cycle
The Cremaster Cycle is an art project consisting of five feature length films, together with related sculptures, photographs, drawings, and artist's books; it is the best-known work of American visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney....
, a series of five films described by Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones (journalist)
Jonathan Jones is an English journalist and art critic who has been writing for The Guardian since 1999.He was on the jury for the 2009 Turner Prize.-External links:*...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as "one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
cinema."
Life and career
Matthew Barney was born March 25, 1967, in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He lived in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
from 1973 to 1985, where he attended elementary, middle, and high school. His parents divorced and his mother moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he would frequently visit, and where he was introduced to the art scene. In 1989, he graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. His earliest works, created at Yale, were staged at the university’s athletic complex. In the 90s, Barney moved to New York, where he worked as a male model—more notably for J.Crew catalogues—a career that helped him finance his early work as an artist. Barney lives with his partner, singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, with whom he had a daughter in 2002.
Drawing Restraint (1987–)
The ongoing Drawing Restraint series was begun in 1987 as a series of studio experiments, drawing upon an athletic model of development in which growth occurs only through restraint: the muscle encounters resistance, becomes engorged and is broken down, and in healing becomes stronger. In literally restraining the body while attempting to make a drawing, Drawing Restraints 1–6 (1987–89) were documented with video and photography. Drawing Restraint 7 marks the influx of narrative and characterization, resulting in a three channel video and series of drawings and photographs, for which Barney was awarded the Aperto prize in the 1993 Venice BiennaleVenice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
.
A series of ten vitrines containing drawings, Drawing Restraint 8 was included in the 2003 Venice Biennale and prefigured the narrative development for Drawing Restraint 9
Drawing Restraint 9
Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
(2005). A major project consisting of a feature-length film with soundtrack composed by Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, large-scale sculptures, photographs and drawings, Drawing Restraint 9 was built upon themes such as the Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
religion, the tea ceremony, the history of whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
, and the supplantation of blubber with refined petroleum for oil. A full-scale survey of Barney's work through Drawing Restraint 9 was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
in 2006 and included over 150 objects of varying media. Drawing Restraints 10 – 16 (2005–07) are site-specific performances that recall the earlier Yale pieces.
Drawing Restraint 17 and 18 were performed at the Schaulager
Schaulager
The Schaulager is a museum in Newmünchenstein, a sub-district of Münchenstein in the canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland.Built in 2002/2003 under commission of the Laurenz Foundation, is was designed by the renowned architectural office of Herzog & de Meuron, the Schaulager opened in 2003...
, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
in 2010 in conjunction with the exhibition "Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail," a survey of the Drawing Restraint series through Drawing Restraint 18.
The Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002)
Barney's epic Cremaster cycleThe Cremaster Cycle
The Cremaster Cycle is an art project consisting of five feature length films, together with related sculptures, photographs, drawings, and artist's books; it is the best-known work of American visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney....
(1994–2002) is a project consisting of five feature-length films that explore processes of creation. His concentration in sculpture is accentuated by his use of video. Barney uses video to perfect his sculpture by evaluating positioning, lighting, size and shape, using video as a means to his end product of sculpture Barney’s long-time collaborator Jonathan Bepler composed and arranged the films’ soundtracks. The cycle unfolds not just cinematically, but also through the photographs, drawings, sculptures, and installations the artist produces in conjunction with each episode. Its conceptual departure point is the male cremaster muscle
Cremaster muscle
-Contraction:Its function is to raise and lower the testes in order to regulate the temperature of the testes and promote spermatogenesis. Contraction may also occur during arousal which can prevent injury to the testicles during sex....
, which controls testicular contractions in response to external stimuli.
The project is rife with anatomical allusions to the position of the reproductive organs during the embryonic process of sexual differentiation: Cremaster 1 represents the most "ascended" or undifferentiated state, Cremaster 5 the most "descended" or differentiated. The cycle repeatedly returns to those moments during early sexual development in which the outcome of the process is still unknown. In Barney's metaphoric universe, these moments represent a condition of pure potentiality. As the cycle evolved over eight years, Barney looked beyond biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
as a way to explore the creation of form, employing narrative models from other realms, such as biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. The photographs, drawings, and sculptures radiate outward from the narrative core of each film installment. Barney's photographs—framed in plastic and often arranged in diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
s and triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
s that distill moments from the plot—often emulate classical portraiture. His graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
and petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum or soft paraffin, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons , originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties...
drawings represent key aspects of the project's conceptual framework.
Performance pieces
Barney has explored live performance before an audience. The pieces Ren and Guardian of the Veil revisit the language of the Cremaster Cycle, via a ritualistic exploration of Egyptian symbolism inspired by Norman MailerNorman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's novel Ancient Evenings
Ancient Evenings
Ancient Evenings is a novel by American author Norman Mailer. It deals with the lives of two protagonists, one young, one old, in a very alien Ancient Egypt marked by journeys by the dead, reincarnation, and violent and hyper-sexual gods and mortals in a complex combination of historical fiction,...
. Guardian of the Veil took place on July 12, 2007 at the Manchester Festival in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. REN took place on May 18, 2008 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His most recent performance, KHU, the second part in his seven-part performance series in collaboration with Bepler inspired by Ancient Evenings
Ancient Evenings
Ancient Evenings is a novel by American author Norman Mailer. It deals with the lives of two protagonists, one young, one old, in a very alien Ancient Egypt marked by journeys by the dead, reincarnation, and violent and hyper-sexual gods and mortals in a complex combination of historical fiction,...
took place on October 2, 2010 in Detroit.
In June 2009, a collaboration between Barney and Elizabeth Peyton
Elizabeth Peyton
Elizabeth Joy Peyton is an American painter who rose to popularity in the mid-1990s. She is a contemporary artist best known for stylized and idealized portraits of her close friends and boyfriends, pop celebrities, and European monarchy...
, entitled Blood of Two, was performed for the opening of the Deste Foundation
Deste Foundation
Deste Foundation or Deste Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art is an arts foundation in Athens, Greece. Housing the massive collection of Greek businessman Dakis Joannou, it organizes exhibitions by emerging and established international contemporary artists...
's exhibition space, the Slaughterhouse, located on the Greek island Hydra
Hydra, Saronic Islands
Hydra is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by narrow strip of water...
. The two-hour performance involved divers retrieving from a nearby cove a vitrine containing drawings which had been submerged for months. A funeral-like procession of fishermen carried the case up a winding set of stairs. At one point, a dead shark was laid on the case, and the fishermen proceeded to the gallery space, carrying the case and shark, accompanied by the onlookers and a herd of goats. At the Slaughterhouse, the case was opened, water poured out, and the drawings revealed. The shark was eventually cooked and fed to the guests.
Awards and prizes
- Hugo Boss PrizeHugo Boss PrizeThe Hugo Boss Prize is awarded every other year to an artist working in any medium, anywhere in the world. Since its establishment in 1996, it has distinguished itself from other art awards because it has no restrictions on nationality or age...
, Guggenheim Museum, 1996. - Skowhegan Medal for Combined Media, 1999.
- James D. Phelan Art Award in Video, Bay Area Video Coalition, 2000.
- Europa 2000 Prize.
- Glen Dimplex Artists Award, Irish Museum of Modern ArtIrish Museum of Modern ArtThe Irish Museum of Modern Art also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art. The museum opened in May 1991 and is located in Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a 17th-century building near Heuston Station to the west of Dublin's city...
, 2001. - Kaiser Ring Award.Mönchehaus Museum für moderne Kunst, Goslar, Germany, 2007.
Publications
- Barney, Matthew. Matthew Barney: new work, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, December 12, 1991 through January 30, 1992. San Francisco Museum of Art, 1991. ISBN 0918471230.
- Barney, Matthew. Pace car for the hubris pill. Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1995. ISBN 9069181487.
- Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 4. Foundation Cartier, Paris and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, 1995. Essay by James Lingwood. ISBN 9782869250512.
- Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 1. Kunsthalle Wien, Museum für Gegenwartskunst Basel, 1997. ISBN 3852470137.
- Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 5. Portikus Frankfurt, Germany and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, 1997. ISBN 9781881616870.
- Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 2. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1999. ISBN 9780935640649.
- Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 3. Guggenheim Museum, New York, dist. by D.A.P., 2002. ISBN 0892072539.
- Spector, Nancy, and Matthew Barney. Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Catalogue published by Harry N. Abrams, 2002. ISBN 0810969351.
- Barney, Matthew. DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 1. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, Germany 2005. ISBN 0979507707.
- Barney, Matthew. DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 2. Uplink Co., Tokyo, 2005. ISBN 4900728144.
- Barney, Matthew. DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 3. Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea, 2005. ISBN 8985468340.
- Barney, Matthew. DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 4. JMc & GHB Editions, New York, 2007, Matthew Barney, Sammlung-Goetz, Munich, 2007. ISBN 9780979507700.
- Barney, Matthew. DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 5. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, Germany, 2007. ISBN 9783865603180.
- Barney, Matthew, Karsten Löckemann, and Stephan Urbaschek. Matthew Barney. Kunstverlag Ingvild Goetz, München, Germany, 2007. ISBN 9783939894094.
- Barney, Matthew, and Olga Gambari. Matthew Barney: mitologie contemporanee. Fondazione Merz, Torino, 2009. ISBN 9788877572356.
Filmed works
- (1994)
- (1995)
- (1997)
- (1999)
- (2002)
- (2005)
- (2005)
- (2006)
Further reading
- Riley, Robert R. "The Expanse of Energy," in Matthew Barney: New Work. exh. cat. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1991. ISBN 0918471230
- Bryson, Norman. "Matthew Barney's Gonadotrophic Cavalcade," Parkett, No. 45, 1995, pp. 29–35. ISBN 3907509951
- Onfray, Michel. "Mannerist Variations on Matthew Barney," Parkett, No. 45, 1995, pp. 50–57. ISBN 3907509951
- Seward, Keith. "Matthew Barney and Beyond," Parkett, No. 45, 1995, pp. 58–60. ISBN 3907509951
- Goodeve, Thyrza Nichols. "Matthew Barney 95 Suspension [Cremaster] Secretion [pearl] Secret [biology]," Parkett, No. 45, 1995, pp. 67–69. ISBN 3907509951
- Ulrich-Obrist, Hans. Interview with Matthew Barney in DRAWING RESTRAINT Volume 1. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, Germany 2005, pp. 87–91. ISBN 0979507707.
- Spector, Nancy. "in potentia: Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys" in All in the Present Must Be Transformed: Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys. exh. cat. Deutsche Guggenheim, dist. by D.A.P. 2006. ISBN 0892073551
- Keller, Alexandra, and Frazer Ward. "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster", Cinema Journal, 45, No. 2, Winter 2006, pp. 3–16.
- Wakefield, Neville. "Matthew Barney. Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail" in Matthew Barney: Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail. exh. cat. Schaulager, Basel, 2010. pp. 8–16. ISBN 9783796527074
- Phillips, Adam. "Adam Phillips and Matthew Barney: A Conversation" in Matthew Barney: Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail. exh. cat. Schaulager, Basel, 2010. pp. 18–42. ISBN 9783796527074
- McClure, Michael Jay. "Queered Cinema: Film, Matter, and Matthew Barney." Discourse, Volume 32, Number 2, Spring 2010, pp. 150–169.
External links
- The Cremaster Cycle Web Site
- The Drawing Restraint Web Site
- Cremaster Fanatic – The Matthew Barney Fan Site
- Barbara Gladstone Gallery
- Matthew Barney on Artabase
- The Road to Art Fame: An examination of two artists, how they got where they got, and whether that's a good thing, by Susan Kruglinski – examination of Barney's career, comparing it with that of Julian SchnabelJulian SchnabelJulian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates....