El Mago (de) Matthew Barney: Influencias Renacentistas en el Ciclo Cremaster

Anca Luiza Sirbu

doi:10.17583/brac.2021.4192

Abstract

In this article we will try to offer a new interpretation of the video art work of the artist Matthew Barney (California, 1967) the Cremaster Cycle, approaching a more humanistic and less biological vision, the last one being the principal study aspect for the experts on Matthew Barney. We will focus on the character of the Magician, a key figure in the Cremaster Cycle. The Magician lighting the pass to a possible interpretation of the Cycle in Renaissance key, the magician character while being a personification of aesthetic- artistic interests of Matthew Barney is also an approximation to the ideal of the Renaissance man: philosopher, magician, healer. Alter-ego of Matthew Barney, the escape artist Harry Houdini represents (and through him all other magical branches) a possible link with the powerful magician Renaissance described by the philosopher Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), able to metamorphose, influence in the sensitivities of his objects, through self-knowledge and knowledge of the Divine.

Highlights

In this article we will try to offer a new interpretation of the video art work of the artist Matthew Barney (California, 1967) the Cremaster Cycle, approaching a more humanistic and less biological vision, the last one being the principal study aspect for the experts on Matthew Barney
El alter-ego de Matthew Barney, el mago escapista Harry Houdini, representa un posible nexo de unión con el poderoso mago renacentista descrito por el filósofo Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), capaz de metamorfosearse, influir en las sensibilidades de sus objetos y acercarse mediante conocimiento y autoconocimiento a la divinidad
Contact Address: Facultad de Bellas Artes Alonso Cano, Avenida de Andalucia, Campus Aynadamar, S/N. 18014 Granada