It’s probably best if I commence this blog with a quote from gallerist Adam Lindemann, “I think he’s probably one of the greatest artists that we have today, but he could also be the worst. It’s going to be one or the other. It’s not going to fall in the middle.”
With an artist like Maurizio Cattelan, I’ve wondered if it would be more appropriate to cram this blog with images of his work and write nothing – allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions. Critic Ben Lewis has been a fan of Cattelan for years, even making a documentary film about him in 2003. He considers Cattelan to have a unique, comical imagination who produces work that is politically and critically engaged – a cartoonist who works in 3D.
“Stephanie” (2003) This sculpture of Stephanie Seymour was commissioned by her magnate husband Peter Brant. A trophy wife? It was sold at auction in 2010 for over $2.4m.
Of course it would make life easier if Cattelan gave interviews, but until recently he didn’t. Instead he engaged a “double” to act on his behalf who was under strict instructions not to answer questions. But naturally, being a reclusive simply adds to the mystery of his work.
“Untitled” (2001) An elevator for mice?
He’s been described as an art world upstart who for years has produced playful, provocative and subversive work that sends up the artistic establishment. A classic example is when he duct taped his dealer Massimo di Carlo to the wall of a gallery for a day. Later di Carlo had to be rushed to hospital after he almost suffered a stroke.
“A Perfect Day” 1999
So there is a cruel twist to Cattelan’s humour which is reminiscent of medieval imagery. And typical of many artists these days, he doesn’t make his own work. He employs skilled craftsman, taxidermists etc to do it for him – sometimes remotely. The craftsman who made the model for the Pope struck by a meteorite had no idea what Cattelan’s objectives were. He thought Cattelan wanted a kneeling Pope. Afterwards, Cattelan cut the legs off before plonking the rock over him.
“The Ninth Hour” (2003) This work was once exhibited at the Royal Academy before being auctioned for almost $1m in New York.
Sometimes, Cattelan’s black humour is directed towards himself. When a publisher wanted to make a book about his work, Cattelan insisted it be a quarter of the size of other books in the series. Taking his cue from Duchamp and the conceptualists, Cattelan was exploiting the nonsense that art had become. He once exhibited a crime report prepared by the police after he claimed a work of his called Invisible was stolen from his girlfriend’s car.
“Him”. (2001) Hitler in the body of a 12 yo. Is he praying for forgiveness?
Clearly, one of Cattelan’s objectives is to question the relevance of contemporary art to the rest of society by poking fun at it. He achieves this brilliantly in the work “Strategies” in which the contemporary art scene is presented as a house of cards. Flash Art was a leading arts publication at the time.
“Strategies” (1990)
Cattelan claimed he was retiring in 2011. I doubt if anyone took him seriously. Five years later he came up with “America”, a fully functioning toilet made out of 18 carat gold. Then in December 2019 he created a storm at the Art Basel in Miami Beach when he exhibited “Comedian” – a real banana taped to a wall. Produced in an edition of 3, it was priced at $120,000 and the edition was sold out.
“America” (2016) and “Comedian” (2019).
The Guardian draws a comparison between the 2 works. In America he seems to be reducing a precious metal to the base for disposing the results of consuming bananas. “Cattelan’s toilet mocked the money-obsessed art world by being potentially more valuable for its raw material than its concept – reflecting a market that can turn shit into gold. His banana makes the same joke the other way round by being glaringly not worth its asking price.”
Perhaps. And that’s the thing about Maurizio Cattelan. Born in Italy in 1960, the son of a cleaning lady and a truck driver, he had no formal art training but has become the master of ambiguity.
A retrospective of Maurizio Cattelan held at the Guggenheim Museum in 2011.
References; How To Get A Head in the Art World – Art Safari BBC 2003
Bananaman; Who Is Maurizio Cattelan? – The Art Newspaper podcast 2019
Don’t Make Fun At The $120,000 Banana - The Guardian
