First, let be begin by saying, kudos to anyone who FULLY understands Matthew Barney's The Cremaster Cycle films. With my head slightly tilted and an eyebrow raised, I still do not fully understand what is going on. In Lynn Brunet’s article “Homage to Freemasonry or Indictment?: The Cremaster Cycle,” she discusses Freemasonry in The Cremaster Cycle. Before having read the article, I was unfamiliar with Freemasonry and really confused about Barney’s films. From what I understand about Freemasons, they are a worldwide, [not so] secret fraternity, who have ritualistic group meetings, ties to Mormonism, and successful members. Is Barney paying homage to his fraternity by including symbols and allegories in his films? Is there anything really wrong with that or is the fraternity actually a cult? Are they religious or spiritual?
I cannot think of an example of when art is not in some way expressive. Life and death are the common denominators of everyone. Each person has their journey through life and will eventually die. In my opinion, having faith in religion or a greater being answers many of the most difficult to answer questions: Where did I come from?; Why am I here?; Who created me?; and What will happen to me when I die? Religion is guide on how to live your life and it provides you with the answer to what will happen when you die. Religion can be tied to science- trying to prove or disprove a greater being; and it can be tied to identity, some people immediately identify and define themselves according to their religious beliefs. Stories are told through art- biblical or allegorical stories- to teach a moral lesson or the creation of someone or something. Religious/ moralizing themes in art will always be relevant. In Themes of Contemporary Art, it states that “the word spiritual [refers] to the common yearning to belong to something greater than the self, the desire to probe the source of life and the nature of death, and the acknowledgment of ineffable, intangible forces artwork in the universe.” So, does that mean that a person who is spiritual is someone who is longing to be religious? Does a person have to be religious to be spiritual? Must religion and spirituality go together?
I found Shirazeh Houshiary’s Turning Around the Centre to be interesting. “[She] studies the teaching of Rumi, ‘where the significance of ‘becoming,’ through transcendent exercises, dancing and whirling, leads to divine enlightenment.” Again, within this course, is mentioned the act of “becoming” (285). Does that suggest that religion and spirituality are constantly being acted upon?
Brunet, Lynn. "Hoamge to Freemasonry or Indictment? The Cremaster Cycle." Project Muse. 2009.
Robertson, Jean and Craig McDaniel. "Themes of Contemporary Art, Visual Art after 1980." New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010. 272-309.
I am right there with you about Mathew Barney. He has such a unique way of expressing himself and I do not think we will ever understand why he chose to express himself in this manner. I liked when you tried to link the Freemasonry to Barney's film by asking the question "Is Barney paying homage to his fraternity by including symbols and allegories in his films?" This helped me to understand it a little better, because in the readings I had no clue what it was talking about. I also liked when you raised the question of "does a person have to be religious to be spiritual?. I never thought of those two things being completely different, but when you analyze each what and what they mean, they can be very different things.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Barney is a strange creature no doubt. Karen said "kudos to anyone who FULLY understands Matthew Barney's The Cremaster Cycle films." Honestly I do not think Barney created the films to be understandable. I think the elaborate costumes, odd settings and unusual music are his purposeful tactics to overwhelm the viewer. His Cremaster films offer too much visual information for the mind to even understand or take in. The aesthetics range from beautiful and pleasing to grotesque and terrifying. From the short clips I have been exposed to, it seems that Barney's over-the-topness is essential to the films. He incorporates such a variety of imagery into his work. I think this makes his work, as odd as it is, very inclusive.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I completely agree. I really don't understand the correlation between The Cremaster Cycle and Freemasonry. I blogged about this subject as well, and I just had this overall question: What's even the relevance? And who cares? He's not a freemason so what do these symbols even show? Nothing.
ReplyDelete