Matthew Barney, deft artist behind five-part visual masterpiece The Cremaster Cycle, takes wind once more with a new documentary entitled River of Fundament, a loosely based allegory on two-timing Pulitzer Prize winner Norman Mailer's Ancient Evenings.
You might recall, BAM premiered the film at its very own Harvey Theater. Barney's work follows the traditional techniques of narrative cinema, coupled with Norman Mailer's hypersexual tale of Egyptian gods, juxtaposed alongside the rise and fall of the American automobile industry.
A mouthful, yes, but the film did not disappoint. Beginning as a 2007 project, Barney incorporates his drawings, sculptures, performance art and hallmark rearranging as a central component to the style of the movie.
With music by Jonathan Bepler, the film should be considered central to Barney's repertoire--similar to his recreation of Mailer's home that he set sail on a barge down the East River.
BAM's press release states: "A collaboration between visual artist Matthew Barney and Berlin-based American composer Jonathan Bepler, the film is conceived of as a contemporary opera that combines documentary footage of three live acts performed in outdoor environments in Los Angeles, Detroit and New York, with live action cinema, largely set in a careful recreation of Mailer's Brooklyn brownstone apartment where the late author's wake is underway."
Can't make it to the Brooklyn Academy of Music? Well, you can still catch another showing as the film makes it way across the globe on an epic 2014 world tour. But something tells me this won't be the last of the ever-expanding measure of Barney's work.
For a lot more on Matthew Barney, himself, do visit Artsy's dedicated Matthew Barney page for bio, high-res images of his prodigious output and wonderful resources regarding his River of Fundament project.
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