Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle by Neville Wakefield, Matthew Barney
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Book Reviews of Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle
Book Review: An Important Work
Summary: 5 Stars
I travelled from San Diego to New York to see all five of the films in sequence, and picked up this book while there. The Cremaster cycle is pregnant with ambiguous meaning (the point of art, nowadays) so this book is, in my opinion, the only way to gain a comprehensive perspective on the work. Other useful features of this book is an illustrated essay of Barney's work, a "Cremaster Glossary"(less useful) and an essay on the meaning of Cremaster. I won't discuss the substance of that essay, but it is useful, if only to orient yourself to the imagery.Perhaps because I got to see all five films in sequence and then had an opportunity to review the book afterwards, I don't think Cremaster is all that difficult to understand. Part of the problem is that he is engaged in fomenting ambiguity. I do believe that is possible to extract signifgant meanings from the Cremaster cycle. Might be a good idea to buy this in paperback if you actually want to paw through it with your dirty mitts.
Book Review: awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
this is the book for those people who have seen and like the Cremaster Cycle. a super companion that gives very interesting background, and criticism of the cycle.Book Review: Gorgeous.
Summary: 4 Stars
Nancy Spector, Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle (Guggenheim, 2002)
Nancy Spector's tome may just have been meant as an accoutrement to the Guggenheim's massive Barney exhibition in 2002, but as an accoutrement, it stands out. Not only in its physical dimensions (Amazon's website says the shipping weight of this book is 8.6 pounds, but after lugging it around for six weeks, I'm willing to put money on the idea that it's closer to twenty-five; it's over a foot tall, and easily as thick as one of the larger volumes of the unabridged OED), but in the concept itself. Spector's essay on Barney takes up the first ninety-two pages, after which comes a glossary of Cremaster terms that reads better than any other glossary you've ever read (think of The Dictionary of the Khazars to get an idea, but using all terms that relate to the Cremaster cycle). Then, of course, the photographs. Mostly video and production stills from the films, but also photos of pieces of Barney's original sketches and storyboard, the sculptures made after the films, and other wonderful little oddities. Good stuff, and a must-have for any Barney fan. Those who have just heard the name, but not seen the films, will get an excellent overview of what you've managed to miss. Those who have no idea who Matthew Barney is, check it out to see what all the fuss is about.
In other words, you want this. ****
Book Review: Lot of Meat
Summary: 4 Stars
Whether you like Barney or not, this book made for the Guggenheim solo exhibition in 2002 have lot of meat. 500 pages covering his Cremaster series (1,2,3), with numerous photograph stills of his films, reference photos, and his works. Approximately, 340 works are shown. The book quality is very good (did not quite match the creativity of Damien Hirst's I want to spend the rest...book), but nevertherless, this book will serve as Barney's important documentation.Book Review: Belive it or not...Incomplete coverage!
Summary: 3 Stars
I finally bought a copy of this book after putting it off since the show in 2003. I'm glad I got it before it goes out of print, and recommend the hardcover over the softcover as it is a beatiful object/catalog.
Sadly, as I have looked more closely into the book since I got it home, I noticed that the book doesn't come close to covering the majority of the actual works that resulted from the Cremaster films. Perhaps this wasn't the reason for the catalog, but I was under the impression that such a huge book would be pretty comprehensive in its documentation of the works it's about. Not so with this volume. Barney is a master of the capitalist side of the fine art world...and no doubt knew that if he reproduced the works he has sold in tandem with the release of each film, his auction prices would suffer. Therefore his immediate sale prices (from the studio/gallery) would stagnate as well(prices rarely drop from that artist directly).
So, what you get here is a fat volume with tons of sketches, production photos, and documentation of the sculpture. In addition you get a verbose essay by Nancy Spector as well as remembrances from participants in this massive undertaking. It is in the lists of works from the cycle that the volume's gaps become apparent. Barney sold several "artist framed" suites of photos from each film...which act as stand alone pieces of work to be consumed by collectors and institutions. It is these works that are not fully documented in this volume. Even if they had done a page of thumbnails for each of the five films, it would be better than to reproduce one photo from a suite of three or four as they have done here...and each film had 5-10 of these suites made in editions ranging from 2 to 50 copies. Look for another book somewhere down the line documenting these works (or the original volumes released for each of the films which cost an arm and a leg now) to get these in your library. Otherwise, the only place I've seen these works reproduced is in auction catalogs, exactly where Barney and his supporters are happy to see them show up.
I have a certain level of respect for what Barney has accomplished here. Both as an artist and as a viewer. Unfortunately, this amazing artifact if NOT the be all and end all of the Cremaster Cycle, and one must look elsewhere to get the whole picture(s).
Here's to hoping that a DVD release of the whole cycle fills in the gaps left over by this book, which is eye candy rather than a substantive look at this artist's work.