| Masonic references in the Cremaster Cycle
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| In Cremaster 3, the last to be made, “New York’s Chrysler Building is a temple of verticality, a masonic power centre, a constellation of evil forces. ” says Jonathan Jones in The Guardian for Wednesday October 16, 2002. “In Barney’s fantasy, it is the masterpiece of sinister architect and Freemason, Hiram Abiff, played by the American sculptor Richard Serra.” Barney’s character is the Entered Apprentice. “Mormon religious beliefs, masonic initiation rites, the Celtic giant Fingal and his nemesis Finn MacCool, Irish Republicanism, the Man in Black, the architectureof Frank Lloyd Wright, American football, Norman Mailer, Harry Houdini, the Great Salt Lake, satyrs and nymphs, grand opera, the Legs of Man: these and other tropes Barney wheels out and wheels away.” “The Chrysler Building’s Cloud Club is a real place, though not attainable with ease; in Barney’s universe, it becomes a threshold between heaven and earth, America and Ireland. It has a snug – a warm, secluded back room occupied by a gang of Freemason gangsters. ” “The Cremaster Cycle should be seen not just as a major American work of art but as a real piece of American cinema.” The Cremaster Cycle and a sculpture, Cremaster Field, were displayed at the Ritzy, London SW2, from October 25, 2002. The Cremaster Cycle, including a complete exhibition of related artworks by Matthew Barney, was at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris until January 5, 2002.
Cremaster Cycle (1995-2002). Directed by Matthew Barney, written by Matthew Barney. Cremaster 1 (1995): Marti Domination, Gemma Bourdon Smith, Kathleen Crepeau. 40 min. USA, English. Color, Mono., Cremaster 2 (1999), Cremaster 3 (2002), Cremaster 4 (1994), Cremaster 5 (1997): Ursula Andress, Matthew Barney, Joanne Rha. 55 min. USA, Hungarian, Color. |