Matthew Barney: No Restraint

This certainly aint for viewers who are looking to be entertained. I spose since the days of Raphael and Co great visual art hasnt really been big with the box office-at least on the first take. Not saying that Barney is right up there but his ideas are pretty interesting and I suspect profoundly complex. It took me many years to finally figure out that the criticism around Joseph Beuys (one of Barneys main influences) was only getting the mans breadth of vision rarely and now the same thing seems to be happening with this guy. Basically he is a shaman, alchemist and rash sportsman. He doesnt have the European restraint (sorry) that characterises the continental tradition but he is on the mark when it comes to subject matter and novel angles-especially the whaleship film (The central subject of this doco) and his adoption of diverse petroleum products. Like Beuys, he wants to heal the growing rift between the nature and humanity, materialism and psyche, East and West, sport and art , Cain and Abel. (From a materialist point of view this is just ridiculous and an unconscious skepticism will probably colour the experience of watching the film) He in effect goes into the belly of the whale and revisits history with some surprising twists. If your interested in art that will still be discussed in years to come- it addresses the root cause of fashion rather than participating in it- then this is the man...as Barney has said somewhere, its best to see the drawings then the doco and then watch the film...but even then the latter is challenging. Moreover the doco really is more an adjunct to the greater body of the mans work and so needs to be considered in context. The is art for people who are serious about what art just might be able to do beyond entertainment. Its the kind of film that you have to work at...I found that I had to read a lot of stuff on Beuys, and others in the arena, see the film which is the subject of the doco and then ponder a whole lotta other stuff...synchronicites to do with Pearl Harbour, Melville and Whale boat attacks ..and so on...I think great art just keeps unveiling the depths long after the others are forgotten...Difficult but worth it.

I purchased this video for my adult son who requested a Cremaster video as a holiday gift. We watched it together and were so engrossed seeing this artist's total absorption in his own creative process. I realized he is totally confident in his own potential, in his own life journey, in his own talent and skill. It is something I aspire to as an artist and so I found this video very inspiring in that sense. And the scale on which he works came through very clearly in the video. It was clear, the audio was very understandable and we could tell what was going on. A lot of art videos seem obscure and it was great to be able to follow the artistic process both visually and audibly. The reactions of the work crews he employed were included in the footage and that in itself was cool! We could see the faces of the workers who hauled, lifted, lugged, worked the cranes -- and some looked very puzzled as to exactly what this guy was up to! It added a nice touch in that it took Barney out of "a bubble" and into the "real world" -- nice juxtaposing I thought.He is a genius like so many of us but he has the whatever-it-is to actually coordinate dozens of people to manipulate 45,000 pounds of petroleum jelly into an overwhelming art installation! Whew!

This is a great film for fans of the artist, Matthew Barney. While exploring his process for Drawing Restraint 9, it also references his previous work in Cremaster. The most valuable aspect of this film is Barney sharing about the symbolic nature and meaning behind his work.

While it's a fairly dull documentary about a really interesting artist, this video does provide a lot of insight into his methodology. Great information for art students and art courses..

I Both love and hate this film. While it has the depth of apple skin it looks real perty. Any inbred would surely love it! If you gave this to a hillbilly I think he would give it back unless prompted by a corn cob pipe and a felt hat to keep it. I think you could drill out the center of the dvd and line it with some nice soft fur and use it for a marital aid.

A nice viewing experience. I'm waiting for an extensive Cremaster Set of somekind!! "No Restraint" offers some insights into Barney and leaves you wanting more.

Pour un documentaire sur Matthew Barney, ça reste un peu superficiel. Quelques beaux plans sur l'installation de vaseline à bord du baleinier et sa déstructuration. Interview intéressante de Bjork. Mais beaucoup de séquences anecdotiques qui n'apportent rien à la compréhension de la démarche de M. Barney. Très décevant le supplément avec les interviews de Barney et surtout de la responsable de l'exposition au Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris: interview qui la joue "Arty" avec des plans ultra-serrés et longs sur l'interviewée, qui n'apportent rien (un enregistrement audio aurait suffit) pour pallier aux manque de documents visuels qui auraient dû alimenter le propos. Quel intérêt les longs et gros plans sur la main crispée de l'interviewée?. Même topo pour l'interview de Barney présentant l'exposition de ses Drawing Restraints: on ne montre pas l'expo, mais juste les profils de Barney, parlant lentementt avec pas mal d'hésitation de son travail. On attend un documentaire plus approfondi sur le travail de cet artiste complexe et génial. Mais j'imagine que cet artiste joue sur le mystère et retient délibérément l'information grand public sur son travail.