Cremaster 3
Cremaster 3 consists of two interwoven narrative threads. The first one, which takes place in New York at the beginning of the 20th century, concerns the history of the construction of the Chrysler Building, as well as a rivalry between an architect and his apprentice. The setting for the second story line is the Guggenheim Museum, where the main character, in overcoming various levels of the rotunda, undergoes a number of Masonic initiation rites that demand both physical and mental effort on his part. These events are echoed by a range of music from traditional Celtic songs to hardcore punk. This unusual story is filled with symbols from American and Celtic culture, Freemasonry, art deco, Jewish parables, and alchemy. Cremaster 3 is the longest and also the most spectacular and complicated episode in the five-part Cremaster Cycle. It was not only the final film made, but also the culmination of the series.
Matthew Barney
He is an American visual artist born in San Francisco in 1967. He currently lives and works in New York. He studied at Yale University in New Haven. He makes films, performance art, sculptures, and installations, while often blurring the lines that separate them. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions (including documenta 9 in Kassel and the Venice Biennale), and his art has been exhibited at such prestigious institutions as the Guggenheim Museum and the Serpentine Gallery. He has received numerous art and film awards, including an Aperto and a Hugo Boss Prize.
Filmography
1994-2002 The Cremaster Cycle
1998 March of the Anal Sadistic Warrior
2004 De Lama Lâmina
2005 Drawing Restraint 9
2014 River of Fundament