Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles
On View Sep. 13, 2015 – Jan. 18, 2016
Through the Sewers of the Privileged and the Divine: A Look at Matthew Barney’s River of Fundament
The sewage of the privileged is gold to their followers. Worship the golden gods and bask in their yellow-stained light. The choice between immortality and the chance to be re-born is a difficult one. To some, immortality is a hellish prison made for egomaniacs that enjoy suffering. Reincarnation is a gift for the chosen ones who have the rare ability to submissively succumb to chance. Throughout history, man has attempted to categorize the human experience. Is rationality man’s greatest accomplishment? The truth is, spirituality is just as much as a human function as shitting is. Connecting to nature is necessary, just as much as shitting is necessary. Matthew Barney made me think about my insides for about 7 hours and that made me feel good and bad but good because I felt bad, and why is this kinda hot, and I have a headache, but I like it.
The 1967 Chrysler Crown Imperial, the 1979 Pontiac Firebird, and a Ford Police Interceptor act as living bodies in Barney’s River of Fundament. These classic American cars reference the creation mythologies of our ancient ancestors. Both metal and flesh are equally desirable for their gifts, their powers, and their utilities. Both human bodies and car bodies act as powerful vessels for celestial development, however fragile they might seem. The flesh of the dead deteriorates into the earth and the bones immortalize as fossils for the living to pay homage to. The gods practice in ways that might seem unnatural, but what do I know about nature? Nature has many definitions, and Barney suggests an alternative viewpoint on the spiritual journey.
So that’s enough sugarcoating for me today, this film is not for everybody. Anyone that loves finding the poetry in grotesque abjection: watch it, try and sit through the whole thing, you can do it, and you love it because it hurts. And you get to watch Paul Giamatti and Maggie Gyllenhaal do some pretty weird stuff. If you are squeamish, Barney’s sculptures in themselves are both slick and romantic. They act as worshiped icons that are directly related to Barney’s multi-dimensional narrative film.
You might have heard that there is a lot of, you know, butt stuff in this film, which I enjoy, but some viewers might question the validity of the focus on the asshole. First of all, its 2015 guys, anal is on the menu. Secondly, Barney reveres the asshole as a portal to a divine dimension. Fucking the ass could be an attempt to spawn gods instead of mere mortals and the shit is their runny road to easy glory.
Barney wants you to demolish the boundaries between civility and instinct. Once all the walls are broken and the viewer discards the ideals of commonly practiced decency, the spirit realm has the ability to present itself. How should one act at a wake? What social restraints do the family and friends enforce while mourning their loss? The feeling of grief for a death can take place in multiple planes of existence. These alternative planes are not controlled by time and they materialize to the ones who possess the ability to unearth the knowledge passed on by their ancestors. This inherited knowledge is in all living objects. Some choose to heed this knowledge while others stray away from it. The ego is just as fragile as the flesh protecting it.
Throats and lungs produce pulsating tonal rhythms that trigger the appearance of father and mother gods who come to assist the realm of the living. The living must honor these gods even though they too suffer from human dispositions. As the gods assist the living, spirit animals assist the gods in their cycles of regeneration. An animal has the ability to humbly intercept the planes and is therefore revered by both the living and the spirits.
Barney’s intensely penetrating film alongside its bronze, brass, and plastic sculptural remnants are both mysterious and demanding. If you are willing to reject conservative formality and sit through this violently passionate journey through the sewers of the privileged and the divine, I suggest taking a look at his sculptures before hand. They act as a guide through the film; they show themselves throughout the narrative and develop as monumental characters. Overall, Barney’s spiritually stimulating project is for those with adventurous hearts and strong stomachs.
