October Matthew Barney Exhibitions / Screenings

California State University Long Beach will screen all five movies in the Cremaster Cycle next month, in conjunction with their exhibition of Matthew Barney's special effects collaborator Gabe Bartolos: Abhorrence and Obsession  (running through December 8). The screenings will be held on three consecutive Saturdays, October 5, 12, and 19. Ticket info and the full schedule are here.

Also next month, Matthew Barney's drawing exhibition The Subliming Vessel (aka La Chambre de Sublimation) will open at the Bibliotheque National de France in Paris on October 8. A version of the exhibition was previously on view at the Morgan Library in New York, but the French installation will include materials drawn from the BnF's collection that were not shown in New York. The exhibition includes approximately 80 drawings, created between 1988 and 2011 and related to projects from the Cremaster Cycle through the currently in-process River of Fundament. Barney will also create a new work in the Drawing Restraint series at the BnF, in a performance that will be filmed for future use. The exhibition runs through January 5.

Cremaster Week on Network Awesome

Next week (July 25 - 29) will be Cremaster Week on Network Awesome. The site will be streaming the five Cremaster films (one each weekday) plus related documentaries and archival footage. This is a great chance to learn more about the symbolism in the Cremaster films. We at CremasterFanatic.com are very excited!

Here is the week's schedule:

Monday, July 25 - Cremaster 1 with:

Doc - Video: The New Wave (1973)
WGBH documentary about the beginning of Video Art

Collection: The Goodyear Blimp
Interesting video and interviews about the Goodyear Blimp

Talk Show - Matthew Barney at the Hirshhorn
Interview with the director of the museum about his varied work and inspiration

Doc - Busby Berkeley
Amazing Director/Choreographer whose dazzling set-based dance routines broke many barriers in film.

Tuesday, July 26 - Cremaster 2 with:

Doc - Slayer
1988 documentary about the meanest band on the planet

Collection: The Mormon Tabernacle Organ
Video and interviews about one of the world's largest organs. This collection is actually vastly entertaining.

Doc - The Great American Cowboy (1973)
An extremely arty documentary about 2 rival cowboys. Won the Academy award for best Doc that year.

Talk Show - Norman Mailer
He's always provocative, that guy...

Doc - Gary Gilmore
In-depth documentary about the serial killer with a mystic past.


Wednesday, July 27 - Cremaster 3 with:

Talk Show - Richard Serra
Great walk-through interview with Richard Serra on Charlie Rose.

Doc - N.Y.H.C
Get a mosh-eye view from this 90's documentary about the Hardcore scene. Tons of candid interviews and great concert footage.

Talk Show - Aimee Mullins
Brilliant TED lecture on what it means to be a super-hero + a spot from the Today show.

Collection: The Chrysler Building
Short videos and a documentary about the Chrysler Building's history and media legacy (note: includes Godzilla)


Thursday, July 28 - Cremaster 4 with:

Art: Nam June Paik & Ryuichi Sakamoto - All Star Video (1984)
Super psychedelic video art from two of the innovators. Great version for lo-fi quality

An Evening with Fred Astaire
Made-for-prime-time TV special with the kick of the tap dance and a ton of guest stars.

Collection: Nervous Gender
Extremely edgy synthpunk group from San Francisco in the early 80s. Includes a few live concerts and some baffling music videos.

Talk Show- Matthew Barney
Join Matt on elaborate walk-through of his Guggenheim show.

Collection: The International Isle Of Man Tourist Trophy Race
First person view of the world-record breaking fastest lap around the island plus other fun stuff. Again - more enjoyable than you'd expect.


Friday, July 29 - Cremaster 5 with:

Collection: Ursula Andress
See the Swiss sex symbol in a wide variety of silly Italian films + great ultra-mod interview

Budapest 1936-2008
Archival documentary and supplementary video that show the drastic changes Budapest suffered in the war.

Doc - Dead Men's tales: Harry Houdini
in-depth documentary about Houdini's life and carer. Full of jaw dropping footage.

Late Night Cremaster Marathon in Chicago May 24

Chicago-area Cremaster Fanatics can catch a late-night screening of the entire Cremaster Cycle starting at 10 pm on May 24 at Late Bar (3534 Belmont Ave.). We suspect this is an "unauthorized" screening so the quality of the projection may be iffy, but when else will you be able to enjoy a few cocktails while watching the Cremaster Cycle?

New Matthew Barney Action Figure by Mike Leavitt

Artist Mike Leavitt has just released an action figure of Matthew Barney (sort of an amalgam of several of Barney's characters from the Drawing Restraint and Cremaster series, it includes two Jacobin Pigeons from Cremaster 5 as accessories) as the latest addition to his Art Army series. The figure is available from Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York City, where it will be exhibited in an upcoming show. We're not sure of the price for the Barney figurine, but others in the series sell from $900 - $1200.

Creminem Mash-Up

Video mash-up of Eminem's Super Bowl ad for Chrysler with the trailer for Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle. Of course, Chrysler Imperials (and the Chrylser Building) play important roles in Cremaster 3, but we can't help wishing they used clips from the Khu video.

Matthew Barney Live in Detroit September 15

We've received confirmation that Matthew Barney will introduce the screening of Cremaster 4 and Cremaster 1 (they're screening the films in the order they were made) at the Detroit Institute of Arts at 7 PM on September 15. Prior to the screening, there will be a cocktail reception with Matthew Barney at 6 PM - tickets are available for $125 (partly tax-deductible). The DIA screenings will continue with Cremaster 2 and Cremaster 5 on September 22 and Cremaster 3 on September 29. To order tickets for the reception with Barney on September 15, contact Tarya Stanford at 313-833-4020 or tstanford@dia.org.

More Cremaster Screenings and Matthew Barney Live Appearance in Detroit

International Film Circuit has updated their list of upcoming US screenings of The Cremaster Cycle, which now includes dates through November. The next stop is Oklahoma City (Aug 26-29), followed by a Labor Day Weekend screening in Chicago (Sept 3-9), then Atlanta, Portland (OR), Cleveland, Washington (D.C.), Houston, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Our informant tells us that The Cremaster Cycle will also be screened at The Detroit Institute of Arts on Wednesdays Sept. 15, 22, and 29 and that Matthew Barney (who is currently filming a new project called Khu in Detroit) is tentatively scheduled to make a live appearance in conjunction with the film screening on September 15. We will publish more information on this appearance when we receive it.

Free Matthew Barney!

Curator and artist Dan Cameron has written an interesting essay for Art-it called "Free Matthew Barney" that argues for the importance of releasing the Cremaster Cycle on DVD.

Cameron writes, "as art histories are published, academic curricula developed and museum programs produced, an ever larger number of professionals and academics will need to see Cremaster at their leisure and on their terms, simply to evaluate it, catalog it or pass it on to the next person. This, apparently, is not to be permitted, with the result that not only have potential profits from the general distribution, licensing, and sales of Cremaster been negated into perpetuity, but those who need to view the cycle in order to evaluate it for others have largely been stymied in their efforts to do so."

Cameron goes on to contrast the limited release of Barney's films with the work of young video artist Ryan Trecartin, who creates videos that are meant to be streamed online. "There might be objects made by Trecartin for collectors to buy, but they are not essential or even terribly germane to the work itself, which is available anytime we want, on our laptops or our iPhones, for absolutely no money. Considering this open access, it seems hard to imagine finding ourselves where we were back in 2004, when Barney had his Guggenheim Museum retrospective featuring, as sculptures, the baroquely decorated display boxes in which the "limited edition" Cremaster DVDs were displayed. Resembling overpriced selections of chocolate or perfume, those display boxes symbolize the elaborate contortions of reality into which the art market twisted itself nearly 20 years ago."

The full article is here: http://www.art-it.asia/u/admin_ed_contri2/SGWcdPUyu2j7AoiDBmgC?art-it=42e6d2b0113b3901a8355a196f18673b

Cremaster Cycle and De Lama Lamina in San Francisco

The Cremaster Cycle (and De Lama Lamina) continue their cross-country re-release tour, opening this week at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. Cremaster Fanatics will want to invest in the $24 "marathon ticket" (available August 7 and 8) to see all the films in order on a single day. Alternatively, next weekend you can pair a Cremaster film with The Cockettes or Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams -- either could make for an interesting double-feature!

Cremaster Cycle and De Lama Lamina Open in Cambridge, MA Next Week

The Cremaster Cycle continues on it's re-release tour across the US, opening next week at Landmark's Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All five films in the series (and Barney's Brazillian epic De Lama Lamina) will be screened daily from June 25 - July 1.

Cremaster Cycle and De Lama Lamina Open in LA This Friday

The re-release of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle and De Lama Lamina opens for a one-week run in Los Angeles this Friday through June 17. The entire cycle (plus De Lama Lamina) will be screened each day (in numerical order rather than in the order they were filmed) at Landmark's Nuart Theater.

Matthew Barney at IFC FIlm Center New York

The Cremaster Cycle is coming to the IFC Film Center in New York City from May 19 - June 3. One ticket will admit you to a double-feature of Cremaster 1 & 2 or Cremaster 4 & 5, or a single screening of Cremaster 3. There is also a special ticket available for $30 that will allow you to watch the consecutive screenings of all five films. Matthew Barney, himself, will appear for a Q&A following the 7pm screening of Cremaster 4 & 5 on May 20. This show will probably sell out quickly, so buy your tickets now! For more information (or to order tickets), visit the IFC Film Center web site.

Cremaster Cycle U.S. Theatrical Release This Spring

It turns out the Cremaster Cycle / De Lama Lamina screenings in Seattle that we previously reported are part of a wider theatrical release of Matthew Barney's films via International Film Circuit. The films are currently slated to be screened in four U.S. cities: Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. International Film Circuit's web site has more information on the venues and dates. After opening in these cities, the Cremaster Cycle will tour across the country over the summer and fall. If you are interested in hosting the films, rental rates (35mm prints) are surprisingly reasonable, starting at $500 per film.

Cremaster Fanatics should note that Matthew Barney will appear for a Q&A session at the screening at the IFC Film Center in New York on May 19 [Note: The date has been changed -- Barney will now be speaking after the 7 pm screening of Cremaster 4 and 5 on May 20]. Also, sadly, the press release states that the, "Epic Masterwork is Not Now Nor Will it Ever be Available on DVD".

Cremaster Cycle and De Lama Lamina Screenings in Seattle

Cremaster Fanatic Julianna informed us that De Lama Lamina and the entire Cremaster Cycle are going to be screened at the SIFF Cinema in Seattle from April 9-15. You can see the screening schedule and buy tickets HERE. For true fanatics, there will be a marathon screening of all five Cremaster films and De Lama Lamina on Sunday, April 11.

Cremaster 2 Video Game for PS3

One of our favorite Matthew Barney Fans, Cremaster Fanatic Paul, has created a level for the PlayStation3 game Little Big Planet based on Matthew Barney's Cremaster 2. Paul has already created levels inspired by Cremaster 1, Cremaster 3, and Cremaster 4 and plans to create levels to accompany the entire Cremaster Cycle. Paul says he will have to edit the sexual content out of the C2 level before he uploads it to the Little Big Planet web site (where you can play his other levels if you own the game and a PS3), but this video presents the uncensored version.

Matthew Barney Meets The Smurfs?

The Art Fag City blog has posted some photographs of a recent "Smurf gathering" in Wales, and draws some interesting parallels with Matthew Barney's Cremaster 1. Among the comparisons, they fail to note that Cardiff, the setting of the Smurf convention, is a stone's throw (globally speaking) from the Isle of Man, the setting of Barney's Cremaster 4.

Visit CremasterFanatic.com for more Matthew Barney look-alikes.

Matthew Barney Theater 3000

The EFA Project Space in New York City is holding an event on Thursday, April 23 called The Glorified Docent, a screening of bootlegged art films with live color commentary from guest critics based on the structure of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), the American cult television comedy series that aired from 1988 to 1999. EFA has not released a list of the films they will be showing, but rumor has it that at least one Cremaster film will be screened. The guest critics include Art Fag City, David Coggins, Bill Cole, Steve Dumain, the Eh-Team, Sarah Hromack, Lady Rizo, Nathan Shafer, and others. The screening follows a panel discussion (titled "The Future of Panel Discussions") that starts at 6:00 PM.

Cremaster 4 Video Game

Cremaster Fanatic Paul has created another fantastic Matthew Barney-inspired level for the PlayStation 3 game Little Big Planet. The latest installment is based on Cremaster 4. If you own the game, you can download the level from the LBP community page -- Paul's username is fluxlasers. If you don't own the game (or need some tips on completing the level), check out the video below. Follow the links for videos of Paul's levels based on Cremaster 1 and "The Order" from Cremaster 3. Paul is working on creating levels for the entire Cremaster Cycle.

Cremaster 1 Video Game for PlayStation

Cremaster Fanatic Paul, who previously designed a level for the PlayStation 3 game Little Big Planet based on "The Order" sequence from Cremaster 3, has created a new level for the game based on Cremaster 1.

Paul tells us that he plans to create levels based on all five Cremaster films. Once completed, he will incorporate all the levels into an area called The Cremaster Cycle where you start with Cremaster 4 and complete and unlock the levels in the same order the films were released. On the Cremaster 3 level there will be a hidden key which will unlock "The Order" level. Keep reading the Cremaster Fanatic blog, and we'll inform you as the other levels are released.

If you have a PS3 and the Little Big Planet game, you can search for Paul's Cremaster-themed levels on the community page and play them yourself (Paul's PSN username is "fluxlasers"). We've included a video of the Cremaster 1 level below:

Matthew Barney Updates

We've completed a major update to CremasterFanatic.com If you haven't visited lately, please check out all of the new material. We've added tons of pictures, videos, artwork, and more!

Among our favorites are:

Pages of production photographs showing the making of The Cremaster Cycle, Drawing Restraint, De Lama Lamina, Guardian of the Veil, and Ren.

New Fan Art.

New Fan Videos.

A few more Fan Costumes.

Drawing Restraint 9 Glossary

And, of course, loads and loads of photos of Matthew 1 2 3 4