Thursday, November 10, 2011

Matthew Barney



I am still haunted by Matthew Barney's films shown yesterday at the London Estoril Film Festival. Especially his film set in Detroit, which he later explained is part of a cycle of 7 based on Norman Mailer's novel Ancient Evenings and featuring Chryzler cars as the mummy. Haunting is the word for his images of industrial decay and car worship. Barney later defined what he does as narrative sculpture, but having seen his films I now understand why he is considered one of the greatest artists alive.