River of fundament is supported by the laurenz foundation, schaulager, basel. Loosely based on norman mailers ancient evenings and borrowing its structure river of fundament combines documentary footage and liveaction cinema over eight. Nov 03, 2015 with the aid of a hauntingly brackish score by jonathan bepler, fundament takes this impenetrable narrative and layers in mailer himselfor at least his spiritas a key protagonist, searching for immortality through perpetual reincarnation in the form of symbolically loaded american cars, each tricked out in their own manner and destroyed. Matthew barney et jonathan bepler river of fundament. Mar, 2014 the waterway below, newtown creek, is one of the most polluted in the country and is the inspiration behind matthew barneys most recent cinematic production with jonathan bepler. Matthew barneys new 6hour film pushes the limits of. Barney translates the hypersexual narrative of normal mailers ancient evenings, a controversial novel about multiple rebirths, into presentday america and. River of fundament seems to stem from an intense filial relationship that ensued between matthew barney and norman mailer toward the end of mailers life.
With an ambitious scope, the film leads us down two primary threads, each loaded with symbolism. From bam, matthew barney, river of fundament 2014 known for largescale multimedia projectsoften made in series over several yearsmatthew barney is among the most ambitious artists of the past two decades. Jonathan bepler is an american composer of experimental music perhaps best known for his collaborative work with artists and choreographers, including many years of work with visual artist matthew barney. It is largely based on mailers book, ancient evenings, and folds mailers life superbly into that narrative as an iteration of ramses ii. Five hours long and over seven years in the making, matthew barneys epic 2014 film river of fundament received a rare screening at sonica 2017. Much has been made of barney drawing inspiration from this novel. River of fundamentnearly sixhours including two breaks and in creation since 2007screens at the harvey theater from february 12 to 16. The further exploration of alternative modes of storytelling, and the incorporation of elements of opera as well as recorded live performances, generate a powerful and incisive narrative structure that captivates the viewer for the films entire six hour duration. A radical reinvention of norman mailers novel ancient evenings, this epic film is the latest. Feb 07, 2014 leave it to matthew barney to come up with a zombie movie musical.
Matthew barney et jonathan bepler, river of fundament the paris. Last month, artist matthew barney and composer jonathan beplers operatic 311minute film river of fundament made its debut in new york. A sculptor, visual artist, filmmaker and performer, exathlete and exmodel, matthew barney b. This gesture led to what would later become the film river of fundament. Between acts, pouring out champagne, one operagoer asks another.
Barneys extravagant video opera washes into mfa the. Matthew barneys river of fundament based on a norman mailer epic of life, death, sex and violence in ancient egypt, is not to be missed. Matthew barney river of fundament book louisgabriel nouchi. River of fundament written by okwui enwezor, contribution by hilton als and homi k. Codirected by barney and composer jonathan bepler, it is a loose adaptation of norman mailers 1983 novel ancient evenings.
River of fundament 01 by enwezor, okwui, bhabha, homi k. Last month, artist matthew barney and composer jonathan beplers. Playbill for each 2014 screening of river of fundament, a film by matthew barney and jonathan bepler. Bepler uses speech and ambient rhythms as compositional elements, in addition to more traditionallyscored arias and recitatives. The film river of fundament combines documentation of these three live acts with scenes set in a reconstruction of norman mailers brownstone apartment in brooklyn heights. Matthew barneys operatic film river of fundament is shown at moca with related sculptures. Titled river of fundament and initially conceived as an opera, the film runs a stately five and a half hours, has an inventive score by barneys collaborator, jonathan bepler, and took seven years to complete. In a sequence of unique live performances, a series of massive sculptures, and, finally, a marathonlength opera in cinematic form, made with. Matthew barney et jonathan bepler river of fundament visual arts the american writer norman mailer once personally gave a copy of his 1983 novel ancient evenings to matthew barney as a hopeful source of inspiration. Leave it to matthew barney to come up with a zombie movie musical. Feb 12, 2014 part of 2014 winterspring season world premiere feb 1216 a film by matthew barney and jonathan bepler produced by matthew barney and laurenz foundation htt. Mar 03, 2016 i n early april, the portland museum of art and the 1932 criterion theatre in bar harbor will be screening matthew barney and jonathan beplers river of fundament.
The whole project is based on ancient evenings, norman mailers sexually twisted novel that elaborately chronicles the ancient egyptian belief in the seven stages. River of fundament matthew barney conceived and articulated as a sitespecific opera, river of fundament takes its inspiration from norman mailers novel ancient evenings, which chronicles the protagonists souls journey through death and reincarnation, according to egyptian mythology. The film, titled river of fundament is a 5 hour and 52 minute journey. The work is inspired by norman mailers controversial novel, ancient evenings 1983, an interweaving of the ancient egyptian book of the dead and sexuality. I n early april, the portland museum of art and the 1932 criterion theatre in bar harbor will be screening matthew barney and jonathan beplers river of fundament.
Matthew barney et jonathan bepler, river of fundament. On the occasion of a major exhibition, performance, and film premiere, this book considers matthew barneys epic. This piece is included in ran dians print magazine, issue 5 spring 2017 river of fundament, an operatic, fivehourlong film created by matthew barney in 2014, was presented in asia for the first time last september. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. River of fundament 2014 directed by matthew barney. He is also multiinstrumentalist, singer, installation artist, and teacher. It was produced by barney and the laurenz foundation and is loosely based on the 1983 novel ancient evenings by norman mailer. Fff2 river of fundament matthew barney and jonathan. M forget flowers, chocolate, and candlelit dinners. The film is an extremely loose adaptation of mailers novel ancient. Conversation matthew barney, jonathan bepler, hans ulrich obrist. Feb 17, 2014 and the wildly experimental music by jonathan bepler justifies the description of river as an opera.
From clouds of dissonant horns to ambient gurgles to upsetting bouts of vocalese that admirers. Matthew barney et jonathan bepler, river of fundament the. The film river of fundament is produced by matthew barney and laurenz foundation, written and directed by matthew barney, music composed by jonathan bepler. The film, river of fundament will celebrate its european premiere on march 16, 2014 at the bavarian state opera house in munich. Fff2 river of fundament matthew barney and jonathan bepler. River of fundament, which he is presenting at the onassis stegi as part of a world tour, is an unprecedented happeninga ravishingly beautiful, satanically alluring amalgam of film and theatre whose 350 minutes took seven years to complete. Matthew barney and jonathan bepler, river of fundament, 2014, production still, photo for a man who has masterminded some of the largest, most outrageous artistic events of all time, matthew barney is strangely unassuming. River of fundament is directly inspired by norman mailers egyptian novel ancient. Mooned river artillery magazine artillery magazine. River of fundament is a travesty on many levels, but the worst part is that the tragedy of the film is the tragedy of detroit.
Feb 12, 2014 in film, its very hard for people not to think of music as something there to inform ones sense of what the emotion is, says jonathan bepler, a composer who collaborated with barney on all stages of river of fundament. Jonathan bepler river of fundament a symphonic film by matthew barney and jonathan bepler. Barney and bepler s script reimagines mailer as his own protagonist who reincarnates three times in three different bodies by magically entering the womb of his wife. River of fundament, an exhibition that brings together for the first time, the entire ensemble of matthew barneys multipart river of fundament project, comprising the symphonic film of epic length 5 hours river of fundament, largescale. Matthew barney always appears so serious and deliberating. So you and your lover are looking for something suitably unconventional to do on valentines day. From clouds of dissonant horns to ambient gurgles to. Wading in matthew barneys river of shit hyperallergic.
The mailer apartment showcased in fundament is a fascinating feat, revealing itself to be a lifesize, excised set piece set atop a barge moving along the hudson river at the end of the film. River of fundament includes elements of cinema, live action, sculpture, and musical performance in an intense, highly complex, sometimes shocking mix. The american writer norman mailer once personally gave a copy of his 1983 novel. River of fundament is presented worldwide by manchester international festival. Contributors angus cook, jonathan bepler and shane anderson.
He climbs the stairs leading into norman mailers house 1923 2007, through the room where the wake for the writers death begins and enters the bathroom where he is sodomized by an old cadaveric the pharaoh usurmare. Action is either sung or naturalistically executed and shifts. In a sequence of unique live performances, a series of massive sculptures, and, finally, a marathonlength opera in cinematic form, made with the artists longtime collaborator, the composer jonathan bepler, barney has elaborated a richly perverse and complex universe in which mythology, iconography, narrative, sex, and death are inextricably. River of fundament is characterized by musical performances directed according to the logic of the narrative. The latest cinematic opus is river of fundament, made with composer jonathan bepler, with whom barney collaborated on the fivepart cremaster cycle exploring sexual definition and the artistic process. The premiere was attended by stars including maggie. Trim, casually dressed, with pale blue eyes that give nothing away, he pauses to. The opening sequence in river of fundament, matthew barney and jonathan beplers epic 2014 video opera recently screened, for the first time in new england, at bostons museum of fine arts. Composer jonathan bepler was largely selftaught on many instruments before he attended bennington college, where his studies focused on composition, improvisation, and performance. Last weekend i finally saw matthew barneys river of fundament, the 2014 film that is the operatic result of his yearslong collaboration with jonathan bepler to explore, as barney has put it in interviews, the language of opera. River of fundament, like the cremaster cycle, is an onionpeel epic. The waterway below, newtown creek, is one of the most polluted in the country and is the inspiration behind matthew barneys most recent cinematic production with jonathan bepler. It draws on some of the same fascinations as the earlier project, although it was originally conceived by bepler. Loosely based on norman mailers novel of the egyptian pharaohs, ancient evenings a book barney loves, despite its critical slating the film explores themes of decay and reincarnation, of digestion and consumption, of the end of one kind of.
River of fundament will be presented as a onenightonly gala screening in wellingtons historic embassy theatre. Mar 07, 2014 last month, artist matthew barney and composer jonathan beplers operatic 311minute film river of fundament made its debut in new york. Mailers novel depicts the spiritual path of the egyptian menenhetet i. Official website for river of fundament, the 2014 operatic film by artist matthew barney and composer jonathan bepler, and related artwork by matthew barney. River of fundament a film by matthew barney jonathan bepler. River of fundament is directly inspired by norman mailers egyptian novel ancient evenings, his infamous classic that chronicled the passage of a narrator through the stations of death and reincarnation. Shown in the suitably opulent surroundings of the london coliseum by the eno, which has undertaken screenings. Watching river of fundament 200714, his new opera, scored by jonathan bepler, at its london premiere, nothing is obvious except that perverse fantasy still rules in barneys mind. Theres a lot of singing river of fundament was conceived by matthew barney and composer jonathan bepler as a kind of opera.
On the occasion of a major exhibition, performance, and film premiere, this book considers matthew barneys epic sevenyear project, an odyssey of death and. In film, its very hard for people not to think of music as something there to inform ones sense of what the emotion is, says jonathan bepler, a composer who collaborated with barney on all stages of river of fundament. River of fundament, an exhibition that brings together for the first time, the entire ensemble of matthew barneys multipart river of fundament project, comprising the symphonic film of epic length five hours river of fundament, largescale sculptures, drawings. Jul 15, 2014 river of fundament is a dense and confounding sixhour film. The film, titled river of fundament is a 5 hour and 52 minute journey floating between a loose narrative and loose stool. This catalogue accompanied the 201415 moca exhibition matthew barney. River of fundament, which he is presenting at the onassis stegi as part of a world tour, is an unprecedented happeninga ravishingly beautiful, satanically alluring amalgam of film and theatre whose 350 minutes took. Melillo, executive producer river of fundament a film by matthew barney and jonathan bepler produced by matthew barney and laurenz. Sep 16, 2015 there are many wet, gurgling noises in the soundtrack. Nonetheless, river of fundament takes the barney and bepler group effort to new heights. Jul 09, 2014 intricately scored by composer jonathan bepler, and written and directed by barney, river of fundament covers the misadventures of menenhetet, here recast as mailer a subordinate of queen nefertiti and rameses who undergoes several reincarnations in his quest for immortality. Combining cinema, opera, concert, performance, and sculpture, river of fundament tells an epic, allegorical story of coming into being and passing away against the backdrop of american industrial landscapes. May i suggest river of fundament, the new matthew barneyjonathan bepler epic modeled around norman mailers novel ancient evenings, which premieres tonight at b. The music comes from within the film the us composer has collaborated with matthew barney on the fivehour the river of fundament.
Max, vice chairman of the board karen brooks hopkins, president joseph v. Sep 26, 2015 matthew barneys operatic film river of fundament is shown at moca with related sculptures. In a halfdark cellar of unfathomable size, matthew barney 1967 emerges as a demon from a primordial broth of urine and faeces. The tableaux were created for river of fundament, a movie almost six hours long that is the most ambitious undertaking by mr. And the wildly experimental music by jonathan bepler justifies the description of river as an opera. River of fundament is a 2014 operatic experimental film written and directed by american artist and filmmaker matthew barney, and codirected by longtime collaborator jonathan bepler.
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