My introduction to Matthew Barney’s art came in Jerry Saltz’s Art in America cover story (Oct. 1996). Saltz’s critical gush about Barney’s sexually weird universe (goat-eared fairies, Goodyear blimp phalluses, new types of genitalia!!) was enough to get your curiosity up – if not your dander. (As for Saltz, he’s still gushing! ) What’s the big deal about dressing up in a white suit, donning white pancake makeup, goat ears and cloven lip and dancing around with other guys and women dressed (or undressed). Oh, well maybe it was a big deal. But I’ve seen one of the Cremaster’s (Cremaster 1 at the PMA, Aug. 2001) and lost in the big art production values is its human heart.
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