Ren Trailer

Cremaster fanatic Mark sent us a link to composer (and frequent Matthew Barney collaborator) Jonathan Bepler's web site, which features a short trailer for Barney's Ren - the first installment in his multi-part opera Ancient Evenings. Click here to watch the trailer.

Matthew Barney's Djed exhibition, featuring sculpture and drawings related to Ancient Evenings, opens at Gladstone Gallery in New York on September 17.

Djed to be Anchored by 25-ton Iron Sculpture

Gladstone Gallery has issued a press release for Matthew Barney's Djed exhibition, opening September 17. The show will consist of drawings and three monumental sculptures made from iron, bronze, lead and copper. The artwork relates to Ancient Evenings, Barney's multi-part site-specific opera based on a Norman Mailer book about a man's journey through the seven stages of the ancient Egyptian afterlife. The exhibition's centerpiece will be a massive sculpture cast from 25 tons of iron during Barney's Khu performance in Detroit last year. This sculpture is based on the undercarriage of a Chrysler Imperial that has been modified to resemble a djed (a pillar-like hieroglyph representing the Egyptian god Osiris' power). First appearing in Cremaster 3, the 1967 Chrysler Imperial is a central element in Barney's Ancient Evenings that is often interpreted as a stand-in for Barney (who was born in 1967). The exhibition continues through October 22.

Matthew Barney Djed at Gladstone Gallery NY Sept. 17

Matthew Barney will exhibit new sculpture related to his Ancient Evenings series at Gladstone Gallery in New York this fall. The exhibtion, titled Djed, runs from September 17 - October 22nd. There is no word about whether the exhibition will include any video or if a performance will be staged in New York to coincide with the show.

According to Wikipedia, "The Djed symbol is a pillar-like ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability. It has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian god Osiris...During the Renewal Festival, the djed would be ceremonially raised as a phallic symbol symbolising the 'potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule'...semen (or more generally spoken - the source of life) was [believed by the Egyptians to be] formed from spinal fluid...[thus] the essence of life starts here in the Ankh - it flows down through the vertebral canal, past the strong base of the spine (the Djed), and out through the penis."