Vlog, Videoblog: Maurizio Cattelan : Artist or Harlequin?

March 17th, 2007

Interview with Maurizio Cattelan (Quicktime-Video)

What does the spectacle of a phallic pink costume, worn by the Parisian art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin, have in common with the spectacle of corpulent art dealer Massimo de Carlo being taped to the wall of his gallery? What does a wax pope, struck dead from a meteorite, have in common with a squirrel that committed suicide at the kitchen table? These works of art or jokes were all created by the Italian artist or fool Maurizio Cattelan.

He says that he became an artist because of the assured income and the attractive women. In fact, he came to art very late, at 30. His numerous and varied jobs have prepared him very well for the absurdities of the art world. Among other things, he has worked in the souvenir shop of a monastery, in a morgue, in a laundry and now as a world-famous artist. He frequently gets fired over his jokes. In his current work, he feels secure that he can do what he wants. This is what he is doing. Sometimes he does nothing, as for example when he opened one of his exhibititions with an empty gallery and no artist. Other times, he steals from an artist of a neighbouring gallery, claiming the artwork as his own. Has Maurizio Cattelan no ideas, a lack of creativity? No. The critics, art dealers and collectors say this is conceptual art. In conceptual art, you can create a wax grandma for a rich English art collector and put it in somebody’s fridge. There she will sit ’till the end of her days — or his days — or longer. If an art collector comes into a museum and appoints something “really cool” by Cattelan, she may get something cool, in the truest sense of the word. So what if Maurizio cut a caper as he got his pay? Anyway, he didn’t have to do that much work for the “Betsy” sculpture, because he always assigns professional craftsmen to make his works of art. In this way, the kneeling and praying Adolf Hitler, one of his most unsettling works, was made. Cattelan told the craftsman only that he wanted a 12-year-old boy with the head of Adolf Hitler. He not only employs others to sculpt, he also has someone else speak for him. In his rare interviews, he is sits beside his double, nodding to his answers. Sometimes there is only the double. Is Cattelan just shy, or is he suffering from psychosis?

Another conceptual art work by Cattelan looked like this: from November 10th to November 17th in 1999, he invited ten international artists to vacation in St. Kitts, West Indies. He declared this spectacle the “6th Caribbean Biennial”. Additionally, there was a little hurricane, which forced the group to stay longer. The participants showed nothing and discussed no art. They vacationed, exactly like Cattelan had announced.

Once again, the art critics, who also traveled to the Biennial, never expected this. Jenny Liu, especially, was furious, writing in the “Frieze” No. 51 March/April 2000: “Such a cynical and ambivalent performance like the Caribbean Biennial is not only depressing: you might think that criticism of one’s own performance has an ethical or idealistic quality. But this kind of humour was an aggressive performance and act of desperation in one, nothing more than a sad trial in irony and parody.”

Once more Cattelan has fooled everyone. Everyone — probably even himself — and me as I’m writing this. Does he know the point where he, his art and his jokes begin and end? Is there really a moment when Maurizio Cattelan sits satisfied at home, pleased that he has teased the whole art world? Is he cynical? Or is he holding a mirror up to people so that they realize what and who they are and how easily they can be manipulated?

Cattelan’s work is a critique of the institution of art, but he is not searching for any sort of alternative beauty and truth in art. No, it seems there is no higher purpose. Or is this purpose so high that we can’t discover it? And now comes the only sure perception about Maurizio Cattelan: nobody knows it. For this reason, but not only this one, Maurizio Cattelan remains one of the most interesting riddles: a joking and inventive artist — or harlequin — and an important exponent of conceptual art.

Thus we remain curious about the next burlesque Maurizio joke.

Action

Daniela Krien

The displayed excerpt is from Ben Lewis.

The DVD features, besides Maurizio Cattelan, Sophie Calle, Matthew Barney, Santiago Sierra, Gregor Schneider and Wim Delvoye.

LINE OF BEAUTY AND GRACE

A documentary about Jock Sturges

About the film

Watch the trailer

Buy the DVD

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