matthew barney at schaulager
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[楼主] oui 2010-06-12 16:03:40
matthew barney at schaulager

matthew barney: prayer sheet with the wound and the nail
schaulager, basel
june 12th to october 3rd, 2010


curated by neville wakefield, 'prayer sheet with the wound and the nail' is an exhibition
of the work of contemporary american artist matthew barney. the show features the
archive of barney's 'drawing restraint' series which began as early as 1987, while he was
still a student at yale university.

'form can only take shape when it struggles against resistance' is the underlying principle of
'drawing restraint', in which barney attempts to make graphic marks despite self-imposed
physical and psychological hindrances (literally 'hindered drawing' or 'drawing under difficult
circumstances'). the series of artistic actions were initially designed so that their structures
made drawing difficult.

early 'drawing restraint' performances consisted of purpose-built apparatus with ramps,
slants, elastic belts and other hurdles specifically intended to impair the artist's technical skills.
the performances were choreographed with precision, revolving around themes such as exertion,
overcoming obstacles, rise and fall, and experimenting with the body and its limits.
as the series has developed, the performance settings have become increasingly sophisticated
and narratives more allegorical.



matthew barney, drawing restraint 17, 2010
production still
© matthew barney
photo: hugo glendinning
courtesy of schaulager



the so-called 'drawing restraint archive' includes sculptures, vitrines, videos and drawings
which arose from his 'drawing restraint' performances which number sixteen to date.
at schaulager, barney's work is placed in dialogue with artworks deploying christian iconography
by such artists as albrecht dürer, hans baldung etc. the aim of this juxtaposition is not to draw
parallels between religious and secular visual traditions, but rather seeks to render latent ideas
in barney's work visible. his working themes of exertion, overcoming obstacles, rise and fall,
also evolved as traditions within the pictorial inventions of christian iconography. in addition,
three monumental sculptures are displayed, and two new works exclusive to schaulager,
'drawing restraint 17' and 'drawing restraint 18' are shown for the first time, having been created
in may 2010.



matthew barney, drawing restraint 17, 2010
production still
© matthew barney
photo: hugo glendinning
courtesy of schaulager



'drawing restraint 17' conveys a sophisticated allegorical narrative. taking his starting
point from the painting 'death and the woman' by hans baldung (called grien),
which is also part of the exhibition, barney conceived the idea for a film in which the
fundamental elements of the 'drawing restraint' series are transposed to the basel locality.
for the first time, it is not barney himself, but a young woman who plays the role of the
film's protagonist, struggling against deliberately-placed hindrances.

'drawing restraint 17' is the first work that can be seen before entering the exhibition,
presented on the institution's large outdoor LED screens. it relates to the new sculpture -
its 'secondary form' as barney puts it - on display on the gallery's lower floor. the final shot
of the film is a forensic close up of the young woman as she passes through a membrane
into a wooden pentagonal frame and thus forms a new sculpture.



matthew barney, drawing restraint 17, 2010
production still
© matthew barney
photo: hugo glendinning
courtesy of schaulager



'drawing restraint 18' is a performance which created an 'altarpiece' within the basilica-inspired
floor plan of the exhibition space. the trampoline from 'drawing restraint 6' was used
one more time and propped at a twenty-six degree angle with a pine wedge and placed
next to the wall. vertical marks were made on the altar wall at the height of each leap from
the angled trampoline. the length of the mark records the downward fall from the height
of each attempt.



schaulager® münchenstein / basel
'matthew barney: prayer sheet with the wound and the nail'
june 12th to october 3rd, 2010
view of an exhibition room
courtesy of schaulager




schaulager® münchenstein / basel
'matthew barney: prayer sheet with the wound and the nail'
june 12th to october 3rd, 2010
view of an exhibition room
courtesy of schaulager



you may view a video of the 'prayer sheet with the wound and the nail' exhibition's
opening press conference here.



matthew barney, drawing restraint 15, 2007
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: neville wakefield
courtesy of schaulager



matthew barney, drawing restraint 15, 2007
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: neville wakefield
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 15, 2007
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: neville wakefield
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 15, 2007
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: neville wakefield
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 15, 2007
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: kanoa baysa
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 13, 2006
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: chris winget
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 9: dynamic of internal relation, 2006
graphite, vaseline and iodine drawing on paper in self-lubricating plastic frame
13.5 x 11.5 x 1.5 inches
emanuel hoffman foundation, on permanent loan to the öffentliche kunstsammlung basel
© matthew barney
photo: öffentliche kunstsammlung basel, martin p. bühler




matthew barney, drawing restraint 9: amphibious landing, 2006
graphite, vaseline and iodine drawing on paper in self-lubricating plastic frame
13.5 x 11.5 x 1.5 inches
emanuel hoffman foundation, on permanent loan to the öffentliche kunstsammlung basel
© matthew barney
photo: öffentliche kunstsammlung basel, martin p. bühler



matthew barney, drawing restraint 10, 2005
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: reggi shiobara
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 9, 2005
production still
© matthew barney
photo: chris winget
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint 9, 2005
production still
© matthew barney
photo: chris winget
courtesy of schaulager




matthew baraney, drawing restraint 7, 1993
production still
© matthew barney
photo: michael james o'brien
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, envelopa: drawing restraint 7 (guillotine), 1993 (detail)
color photo in nylon frame
© matthew barney
courtesy of schaulager




matthew barney, drawing restraint: 1, 1987
documentary photograph
© matthew barney
photo: michael rees
courtesy of schaulager




hans holbein the younger (1497 / 1948 - 1543)
christ recumbent below the cross, circa 1520
woodcut by hans lützelburger
6.8 x 10.9 inches
kunstmseum basel, kupferstichkabinett, amerbach-kabinett
photo: kunstmuseum basel, martin p. bühle
courtesy of schaulager



'(...) 'prayer sheet with the wound and the nail' follows the intersection of different eras
and their approach to the sacred and profane body. the predicament of religious art -
not to say of religion itself - has always been how to give form to an internal, moral
or spiritual condition. where judaism has responded to this predicament with injunctions
against the graven image, christian iconography has developed around a visual language
for which the trails of the spirit are inscribed upon mortal flesh. best known are the
narrative cycles of the passion, here represented by the woodcuts and engravings of
albrecht dürer and martin schongauer. along with these are lesser-known works of the period
by baldung-grien, cranach, graf, goltzius, wierix and others for whom allegorical
and religious impulses of stand side by side with the drawn cut or engraved form.
by placing works that represent this tradition alongside the 'drawing restraint' series,
the intention is less to draw parallels between the secular and religious, sacred and profane,
than it is to create a dialogue between the internal and external inscriptions of the flesh
and our struggles to project these onto the world.
' - neville wakefield, curator

more than 70 sacred artworks from the northern renaissance are exhibited in contrast
to barney's work.



hans baldung grien (1484 / 1485 - 1545)
death with banner lowered to the ground, circa 1505
pen and brown ink, hightened with white, on pale brown paper
11.7 x 7.3 inches
kunstmuseum basel, kupferstichkabinett
donation from the heirs of dr. tobias christ, 1947
photo: kunstmuseum basel, martin p. bühler
courtesy of schaulager




hans baldun grien (1484 / 85 - 1545)
woman and death, 16th c.
tempera on limewood
11 5/8 x 6 7/8 inches
kunstmueum basel
photo: kunstmuseum basel martin p. bühler
courtesy of schaulager





lucas cranach the elder (1472 - 1553)
head of christ crowned with thorns, circa 1520 / 1520
oil on limewood
10.8 x 8.1 inches
private collection
photo: brian watt, london
courtesy of schaulager


matthew barney was born in 1967 in san francisco, california.
he is best known for his ambitious film and performance cycles 'cremaster' and 'drawing restraint'.
since 1996, emanuel hoffmann foundation has been buying his work.
in all their various manifestations, barney's work is linked by the desire to lend inner states,
a binding form.
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