The CREMASTER cycle, created and produced by Matthew Barney, is a series of five visually extravagant films made out of sequence (CREMASTER 4 began the cycle, followed by CREMASTER 1, 5, 2, and finally, CREMASTER 3) but presented here in the order of their creation. The title of the cycle refers to the muscle that raises and lowers the male reproductive system according to external stimuli such as temperature or fear. Taken in sequential order, the films correlate to the height of the gonads dur...
The CREMASTER cycle, created and produced by Matthew Barney, is a series of five visually extravagant films made out of sequence (CREMASTER 4 began the cycle, followed by CREMASTER 1, 5, 2, and finally, CREMASTER 3) but presented here in the order of their creation. The title of the cycle refers to the muscle that raises and lowers the male reproductive system according to external stimuli such as temperature or fear. Taken in sequential order, the films correlate to the height of the gonads during the embryonic process of sexual differentiation, with CREMASTER 1 representing the most “ascended” state, and CREMASTER 5 the most “descended.”
As the cycle evolved over eight years (1994–2002), this biological model was joined by other paradigms such as history, autobiography and mythology that have added to Barney’s fantastical narrative constructs. The resulting cosmology is both beautiful and complex, with densely layered and interconnected symbols and images.
The films are screened here in chronological order of their production to reveal the development of Barney’s relationship to the material and of his creative process.
Schedule
10:30 am, CREMASTER 4 (1994), 41 min.
11:15 am, CREMASTER 1 (1995), 42 min.
12:15 pm, CREMASTER 5 (1997), 55 min.
2:45 pm, CREMASTER 2 (1999), 80 min.
4:30 pm, CREMASTER 3 (2002), 178 min.
More dates
Jun 6 10:30 am–7:40 pm
Jul 11 10:30 am–7:40 pm
Aug 8 10:30 am–7:40 pm
Sep 5 10:30 am–7:40 pm
Free with museum admission.
