That's How It Happened

Matthew Barney and Bjork's Drawing Restraint 9, is being exhibited at the Serpentine in September as part of his first ever major show in the UK. The Cremaster Cycle Exhibition at the Guggenheim, was one of the most astonishing art shows I've ever seen, but I have some reservations about Drawing Restraint 9:

"In a harrowing liebestod which is the climax and centerpiece of the film, the Guests, locked in an embrace and breathing through blowhole-like orifices on the back of their necks, take out flensing knives and cut away each other's feet and thighs. The remains of their lower body are revealed to contain traces of whale tails at an early stage of development, suggesting rebirth, physical transformation, and the possibility of new forms."

Not surprisingly the film has spilt the critics. I particularly like Colin Covert's review for the Star Tribune, which concludes:

"Moby ick. Intercut with their mating metamorphosis are scenes of the ship's crew filling a gigantic oval Jell-O mold with Vaseline, harpooning trash bags full of shrimp, and salvaging a clump of ambergris. That, of course, is a type of whale barf prized by perfume connoisseurs, and a fitting image for this willfully opaque project. The accolades of the art vanguard notwithstanding, Barney needs to pull his head out of his blowhole."

Despite this, the trailer makes it look quite utterly brilliant:

Labels: matthewbarney, whales