Purple Magazine
— S/S 2012 issue 17
Matthew Barney
The iconic artist MATTHEW BARNEY let his friend Ari Marcopoulos photograph him in his studio in Long Island City, New York. At the time, Barney was preparing his recent exhibition at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery: a show based on myths from ancient Egypt. This story reveals — behind the glamour and dark phantasmagoria of Barney’s work — the picture of a Renaissance artist physically engaged in the chemistry, labor, and construction of his creations.
photography and text by ARI MARCOPOULOS
All the artworks in this story were presented in a show at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery: Matthew Barney DJED, New York, 2011
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A car part in a block of salt.
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Matthew Barney in his studio.
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Matthew Barney’s studio is located along the East River, in an industrial part of Long Island City. He and his assistants dug a hole (shown in the middle of this photograph) in the floor of his studio, jackhammering the concrete. Matthew wanted to build an Egyptian death chamber below his studio in order to film in it. But while they were digging, it became clear that the water table was too high, making it impossible to create an underground space. In addition to the water, there was oil and a terrible smell. It seemed wiser to close the hole.
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This rope was cast for a sculpture, part of it in plastic, which fuses into lead. The trickiest part is the transition from plastic to lead. Lead is highly poisonous. Compared with plastic, lead is much harder and more difficult to pour. The lead also adds considerable weight to the work. This type of process is hardly new in Barney’s work. He labors like an old-world sculptor, fully engaged in the physical process of making his work. He studies every aspect of it. His way of working is like a performance.
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A bashed-up Pontiac Firebird. We both love muscle cars.
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The flooding in this photograph occurred during Hurricane Irene. Together with the artist Keith Edmier, I’d spent the night at Matthew’s place, where we waited for the storm to pass. The storm didn’t live up to the hype on the news. The next morning, though, we went to check the studio and saw that it was flooded, which was slightly traumatic. He lost a few things, but not many. We canoed around in the studio, surveying the situation.
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KHU is the title of Matthew Barney’s movie shot in Detroit, for the Barbara Gladstone exhibition. The movie shows the preparation of these metal pieces in four fire ovens, about 30 meters [98 feet] high. Around them, hundreds of people pour molds to make scepters in what seems like a crazed ritualistic performance. In Egyptian mythology, these pieces — scepters — are called the Was. One of these scepters is rammed through the window of the gold Firebird that Barney’s character (James Lee Byars as Osiris) is driving, which knocks the idling car into gear.
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The show at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery was based on Norman Mailer’s book about pharaonic Egypt, Ancient Evenings. This is part of a canopic chest and its hammer rest. Left: A drawing of the Egyptian god Osiris on a throne for the Gladstone exhibition. Right: Barney preparing for the show.
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