Matthew Barney: No Restraint

Buy This Item Matthew Barney: No Restraint by Ifc  Available from Amazon  $21.99  on 11-16-2008     Documentary ) World renowned artist and filmmaker, Matthew Barney plowed the waters off the coast of Nagasaki to film his massive endeavor, DRAWING RESTRAINT 9. This documentary journeys with Barney and his collaborator Björk, as the visual artist creates a "narrative sculpture" telling a fantastical love story of two characters. Reader Reviews This certainly aint for viewers who are looking to be entertained. I spose since the days of Raphael and Co great visual art hasnt really been big with the box office-at least on the first take. Not saying that Barney is right up there but his ideas are pretty interesting and I suspect profoundly complex. It took me many years to finally figure out that the criticism around Joseph Beuys (one of Barneys main influences) was only getting the mans breadth of vision rarely and now the same thing seems to be happening with this guy. Basically he is a shaman, alchemist and rash sportsman. He doesnt have the European restraint (sorry) that characterises the continental tradition but he is on the mark when it comes to subject matter and novel angles-especially the whaleship film (The central subject of this doco) and his adoption of diverse petroleum products. Like Beuys, he wants to heal the growing rift between the nature and humanity, materialism and psyche, East and West, sport and art , Cain and Abel. (From a materialist point of view this is just ridiculous and an unconscious skepticism will probably colour the experience of watching the film) He in effect goes into the belly of the whale and revisits history with some surprising twists. If your interested in art that will still be discussed in years to come- it addresses the root cause of fashion rather than participating in it- then this is the man...as Barney has said somewhere, its best to see the drawings then the doco and then watch the film...but even then the latter is challenging. Moreover the doco really is more an adjunct to the greater body of the mans work and so needs to be considered in context. The is art for people who are serious about what art just might be able to do beyond entertainment. Its the kind of film that you have to work at...I found that I had to read a lot of stuff on Beuys, and others in the arena, see the film which is the subject of the doco and then ponder a whole lotta other stuff...synchronicites to do with Pearl Harbour, Melville and Whale boat attacks ..and so on...I think great art just keeps unveiling the depths long after the others are forgotten...Difficult but worth it.

Matthew Barney: No Restraint Available from Amazon Price: $21.99 Updated on 11-16-2008.

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