Customer Reviews

Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle

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The challenges of SEEING (much less remembering and understanding) Barney's Cremaster films are not insignificant:
1) They show very rarely (and rarely together or in sequence).
2) Some of them (like Cremaster 3) are so LOOONG even diehard fans can nod off to sleep.
3) Their linear, sequential nature means you can't jump back and forth between them to make connections.
4) Unless you're a Barney junkie, you didn't even SEE a couple of the films yet.
5) Unless you go to the 2002 museum exhibition or you're on dealer Barbara Gladstone's speed dial, you've never seen more than one of Barney's sculptures at a time.

So unless you have a photographic memory (and dedicate it to the service of Matthew Barney), it's extraordinarily difficult to build more than impressionistic understanding of this body of work.

This book solves that challenge. It's comprehensive documentation of ALL the films, their production, inspiration and symbolic elements make in an indispensable tool, a Rosetta stone, maybe, for gaining an overall perspective of Barney's vision.

Whether the artist intends it or not, for better or worse, this book will become THE MAIN SOURCE through which people will encounter his work.

A truly wonderful book for anyone minorly interested in mr. barney's work. I could not have asked for a better printed compilation of these films. The price is extremely reasonable, and for anyone that has attempted to see the films/books of the first 3 films made, it is a treat to see these rarely seen images. cremasters 1,4,and 5 are out of print and the films are only available to art collectors in limited edition laserdiscs, or to view upon there original release. The essays are comprehensive of barney's earlier work and the cremaster cycle, and offer explanations and information that links together this mysterious series of films. Also included in this edition are many interesting interviews with collaborators/crew of the 5 films. the book is divided as follows: two very nice essays on barney's work and the films, each film is then given it's own section which are divided by arc-like cut outs, much like a dictionary or bible, but larger. there is a glossary of terms and concepts that the films deal with, and then the interviews. All of the images are printed very well and the over all presentation (white cloth book mark included) is top notch. this allows for the average joe with not much dough to have access to these films.

Nancy Spector, Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle (Guggenheim, 2002)

Nancy Spector's tome may just have been meant as an accoutrement to the Guggenheim's massive Barney exhibition in 2002, but as an accoutrement, it stands out. Not only in its physical dimensions (Amazon's website says the shipping weight of this book is 8.6 pounds, but after lugging it around for six weeks, I'm willing to put money on the idea that it's closer to twenty-five; it's over a foot tall, and easily as thick as one of the larger volumes of the unabridged OED), but in the concept itself. Spector's essay on Barney takes up the first ninety-two pages, after which comes a glossary of Cremaster terms that reads better than any other glossary you've ever read (think of The Dictionary of the Khazars to get an idea, but using all terms that relate to the Cremaster cycle). Then, of course, the photographs. Mostly video and production stills from the films, but also photos of pieces of Barney's original sketches and storyboard, the sculptures made after the films, and other wonderful little oddities. Good stuff, and a must-have for any Barney fan. Those who have just heard the name, but not seen the films, will get an excellent overview of what you've managed to miss. Those who have no idea who Matthew Barney is, check it out to see what all the fuss is about.

In other words, you want this. ****

I finally bought a copy of this book after putting it off since the show in 2003. I'm glad I got it before it goes out of print, and recommend the hardcover over the softcover as it is a beatiful object/catalog.

Sadly, as I have looked more closely into the book since I got it home, I noticed that the book doesn't come close to covering the majority of the actual works that resulted from the Cremaster films. Perhaps this wasn't the reason for the catalog, but I was under the impression that such a huge book would be pretty comprehensive in its documentation of the works it's about. Not so with this volume. Barney is a master of the capitalist side of the fine art world...and no doubt knew that if he reproduced the works he has sold in tandem with the release of each film, his auction prices would suffer. Therefore his immediate sale prices (from the studio/gallery) would stagnate as well(prices rarely drop from that artist directly).

So, what you get here is a fat volume with tons of sketches, production photos, and documentation of the sculpture. In addition you get a verbose essay by Nancy Spector as well as remembrances from participants in this massive undertaking. It is in the lists of works from the cycle that the volume's gaps become apparent. Barney sold several "artist framed" suites of photos from each film...which act as stand alone pieces of work to be consumed by collectors and institutions. It is these works that are not fully documented in this volume. Even if they had done a page of thumbnails for each of the five films, it would be better than to reproduce one photo from a suite of three or four as they have done here...and each film had 5-10 of these suites made in editions ranging from 2 to 50 copies. Look for another book somewhere down the line documenting these works (or the original volumes released for each of the films which cost an arm and a leg now) to get these in your library. Otherwise, the only place I've seen these works reproduced is in auction catalogs, exactly where Barney and his supporters are happy to see them show up.

I have a certain level of respect for what Barney has accomplished here. Both as an artist and as a viewer. Unfortunately, this amazing artifact if NOT the be all and end all of the Cremaster Cycle, and one must look elsewhere to get the whole picture(s).

Here's to hoping that a DVD release of the whole cycle fills in the gaps left over by this book, which is eye candy rather than a substantive look at this artist's work.

i read the two negative posts about the entire cremaster cycle book/exhibit. i have to say i do not think is anti-women in any way. some people get it, some people don't. i think this man is brilliant, simple thoughts arranged in complex manners, cremaster for me does not mean that the "dropping" of the testicles ignited the birth cycle, i think it has to do with the actual process of sexual definition (for lack of a better word) in a fetus. in other words, the moment you become either a boy or a girl, and how this person has become obsessed with that moment. i might be wrong, but i just wanted to point out, that i do not believe it suggests mysogyny.

This book, describing Matthew Barney's masterpiece "The Cremaster Cycle" is more than the standard book of photos from an exhibition. It is a work of art itself, encapsulating the entire Cycle in 500 pages. It could serve as the textbook for an entire semester art course on the creative process, the meaning of contemporary art, even questioning man's struggle to create.

This book is in 5 main parts. First is Nancy Spector's brilliant 80 page essay on Matthew Barney's work. This is no mere blueprint of the meaning of the Cremaster Cycle; instead it is an ambitious work in its own right, exploring as much ground as Barney himself. The level of detail and penetrating questions Spector brings up is mind-blowing. I can think of no other essay on art that has moved me like this one. After seeing the entire Cremaster Cycle and reading Spector's discussion on it, I can only conclude that even contemporary art geniuses like Richard Prince, Koons, even Warhol are doing paint-by-numbers in comparison. If you are looking for a simple Rosetta Stone for the Cycle, in which you are told "X is a symbol for Y and this is what the whole thing means" you will be disappointed. That is the power of Barney's work - it is universal, yet personal, accessible, yet confounding at the same time.

Barney's work is not defined by a tight narrative with one fixed solution. Nor does it have the feeling of random scribblings devoid of meaning, attempting to provoke like many contemporary artists. There is nothing wasted here - every detail matters. At every juncture, Spector goes one step further; she takes a scrap of detail and lingers, letting it's implications emanate outward like the rings in a pond from a tiny pebble hitting the surface. The very struggle of creation is what is at stake here. While most contemporary art is no more than shrill complaints about current events like war, racism, or homophobia, Barney soars above them all and deals with universal, timeless issues.

The second part of this book is an "encyclopedia" of sorts, which dovetails nicely with Spector's work. Like her essay, it delves deeper into specific elements of the Cycle, without being an "on the nose" explanation.

The third part of the book is the visual meat of the book. Organized in the five parts of the cycle, it is a collection of photos, drawings, sculptures, images and articles that relate to the Cycle. None of the exhibits are labeled with text, which allows the viewer/reader to experience them in order, without text which might block the direction the mind can travel. It is a veritable scrapbook, with everything from scenes from the films, to Polaroids that inspired some of the art. It is nicely tabbed by section, and the quality of the paper and images is outstanding.

The fourth part of the book is the text that is an index of part three, explaining exactly what each visual element is. This is very useful and informative and the decision to keep this separate from section three is a good one.

The final part of the book is a series of articles from interviews with Matthew Barney's various collaborators. For anyone that has seen these films and wondered "what is it like working on one of these strange films?" this is the most rewarding section. An artist dresses you up like a 1950s Hollywood starlet in silky lingerie, puts you under a table, has you make designs with grapes that come out of your strange shoe - what is that like? The answer is here. The only thing I would have liked to have understood better is the business side of it all; an interview with Barbara Gladstone who helped finance the project would have been very interesting to me.

This book is a prized possession, a piece of art itself. Like no other exhibition art book, this book is like owning a piece of the Cremaster Cycle. Other than owning one of the limited edition Laserdisc copies of the Cycle, this is the best way to "collect" Barney's work. This book has greatly deepened my understanding of all art, not just that of Matthew Barney. Nancy Spector is a art genius herself for recognizing and promoting the deep talent of Matthew Barney. Reading her essay may even make you ask yourself serious questions about your own life.

I travelled from San Diego to New York to see all five of the films in sequence, and picked up this book while there. The Cremaster cycle is pregnant with ambiguous meaning (the point of art, nowadays) so this book is, in my opinion, the only way to gain a comprehensive perspective on the work. Other useful features of this book is an illustrated essay of Barney's work, a "Cremaster Glossary"(less useful) and an essay on the meaning of Cremaster. I won't discuss the substance of that essay, but it is useful, if only to orient yourself to the imagery.
Perhaps because I got to see all five films in sequence and then had an opportunity to review the book afterwards, I don't think Cremaster is all that difficult to understand. Part of the problem is that he is engaged in fomenting ambiguity. I do believe that is possible to extract signifgant meanings from the Cremaster cycle. Might be a good idea to buy this in paperback if you actually want to paw through it with your dirty mitts.

I suggest you experience Barney's work and then purchase this book. Barney's universe is no Finnegan's Wake - but the biological subtext of pure potential and secret societies are obscure enough to warrant a companion.

Barney's work is difficult; if you are new to him, don't expect it to sit easily with you. But those with patience and an open mind will discover that Barney's universe gives a prodigiously eloquent visual expression to the ideas of the great thinkers of the late 20th century.

this is the book for those people who have seen and like the Cremaster Cycle. a super companion that gives very interesting background, and criticism of the cycle.