Bathroom Tile Wall birthday cake by Kreemart for a party hosted by Maurizio Cattelan and Toilet Paper magazine.
hyde or die
Maurizio Cattelan Untitled 2001
This is one of the pieces that really lost its impact at his retrospective at the Guggenheim. It was truly magical being there for the show itself, the install alone was a work of art, but in retrospect, I’m sad I didn’t get to spend more time with pieces I have yearned to experience for so long.
I was in NY for just a few hours over the holidays with the express notion of seeing Maurizio Cattelan’s retrospective All at the Guggenheim. It couldn’t have been a more fun outing, and that is besides the fact that a museum employee complimented my awesome shawl and my mom guarding me from security guards to take pictures. It was a fun and novel new way to show art and I loved how everyone at the museum was so excited to see it and learn about the work. Besides the overall feeling of joy (mine and other viewer’s) I felt while I was there, I took away this:
- I have read in numerous places people referring to the presentation of the works as if the pieces were hanging from gallows, as if they are being executed. Probably to better correlate Cattelan’s announcement that he is quitting the art world after this show. However, to me, because of the type of rope chosen, a nylon instead of a more traditional old west looking natural fibers, the pieces look like they are all about to be moved in by a crane to an expensive Park Ave penthouse. Which seems to be parallel to the transitional theme, just more expensive and less aggressive.
- Some of the pieces, while interesting to see in the context of his oeuvre, lost a lot of power out of the context of a room. Specifically some of exceptionally large or small pieces and the minimal pieces that get lost in the crowd.
The Guggenheim’s retrospective on Maurizio Cattelan has an app, this week only it’s $1.99 for your iPhone and $3.99 for your tablet, after that it will be $3.99 for you iPhone and $5.99 for your tablet.
I downloaded it and it’s interesting, but unfortunately lacking the clever irreverence we love about Cattelan’s work which leads me to think that beyond the John Waters intro, the artist himself didn’t have much input in the app.
Also charging THAT much for it? This pricing is starting to look like a trend and not the exception.
Maurizio Cattelan All 2011
Over the last several weeks, the artist leaked the news that his show would not just include every single work he had ever made, but that he would dangle it all from the top of the Guggenheim’s rotunda, leaving the rest of the museum empty. What’s more, the show would mark his retirement from art-making, leaving him free to pursue projects like “Toilet Paper,” the scabrous and surreal picture magazine he has created with the Milanese photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. In other words, the retrospective was not going to be just a summing up. It would be the end. It would be, as Cattelan called it, “All.”
At least we have Toilet Paper…
Maurizio Cattelan Untitled (Middle Finger) 2010
This piece is installed in front of the Milan Stock Exchange…too on the nose?
