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Paul McCarthy's retrospective at the New Museum
is one of the most notable shows of 2001. A contemporary of the
Chris Burden, McCarthy's work is steeped in the body and performance
art of the early 70's and the work is consistant throughout. Spanning
three decades, the exhibition includes early conceptual photography,
early performance and the now infamous video performances like
"Bossy Burger"where McCarthy's alter-ego clown in Alfred
E. Newman mask does some provocative things as he deconstructs
a cooking program. Massaging a chair withketchup, the clown admits,
"I like my work," over and over. More recently, McCarthy
fabricates sculpture which are reminiscent of some brit art being
done now by the Chapman brothers, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hurst
among others. It's hard to say who is influencing who? Similar
investigations into the underside of America can be seen in work
by Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Mike Kelly and David Lynch in cinema.
A lot of New Yorkers were taking in this show
in their lunch hour. Daring indeed. The show is both impressive,
unnerving and disgusting all at once. A continual barrage of video
in the galleries allowed one to watch the monitors without being
cornered, but the overlapping sound from different pieces did
not allow them to be viewed as "individual" pieces.
The creepy clown thing and the gross-out humor batters away at
uptight consumer sensiblilites relentlessly. It is as if some
drunken demented fraternity was unleashed to pursue every fantasy
it could muster. It's up front: bestiality, incest, ketchup and
mayonaisse. Having said that the work hits below the belt, (literally)
one cannot say, on viewing, what lies underneath the obvious mayhem.
It hints at pornography in places, but there is a sensation seeking
reminiscent of some "real" tv police chase. One video
piece seemed to be a satiric look at three art world curators
(wearing trademarkclown noses, of course) in a goofy discussion.
Now, that¹s funny. Where does the theatre end and reality
set in? This is McCarthy's schtick. It gets under your skin. Are
these taboos easy targets? Perhaps. He sticks closely to these
and never touches anything outside, like religion. Now, that would
get Mayor Giuliani out of city hall pretty quick.
© James Rosenthal - May 2001
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