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Collections
Collage of five diverse artworks from the Hammer Museum Collections side by side. From left to right: 1) Contemporary painting of two embracing figures with surreal elements. 2) Post-impressionist style painting of trees with vibrant blues and greens. 3) Black and white illustration of a face with intricate patterns. 4) Japanese woodblock print style image of a figure in a checkered robe. 5) Photograph of a couple dancing, the woman in a black dress and the man in white

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Screenings
Part of the series The Cremaster Cycle

Cremaster 4 & Cremaster 1

  • This is a past program

The Hammer presents Matthew Barney’s epic masterwork The Cremaster Cycle, screened in its entirety over the course of several days. With near cult status in the art world, The Cremaster Cycle is an evocation of the creative process by Barney, a sculptor and performance artist and arguably one of the most important artists of his generation. Visually arresting and often disturbing, The Cremaster Cycle is a grand mixture of history, mythology, and autobiography exploring the creation of form. Each of the five films is projected on 35mm film, and presented in the order of its making. 

Cremaster 4 (1994)

Adheres most closely to the project's biological model, describing the system's onward rush toward descension despite its resistance to division. The Loughton Candidate (played by Barney) is a satyr with two sets of impacted sockets in his head - two arcing upward, two down, with ascension and descension coexisting in equilibrium. Two motorcycle sidecar teams - the Ascending and Descending Hacks – race in opposite directions while gelatinous gonadal forms - undifferentiated internal sex organs - emerge from slots in their uniforms in a migratory quest for directionality. (43 min.)

Cremaster 1 (1995)

A musical revue performed on the blue Astroturf playing field of Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho – Matthew Barney's hometown. Two Goodyear blimps float overhead and chorus girls on the field glide in time to the musical score. Cremaster 1 symbolizes a still-androgynous sexuality, a state of pure potential. Features Marti Domination as Goodyear. (41 min.)

The Cremaster Cycle is screened in conjunction with the West Coast premiere of River of Fundament: A Film by Matthew Barney & Jonathan Bepler at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, April 25, presented by Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA). Click here for tickets and more information.

All Hammer public programs are free and made possible by a major gift from the Dream Fund at UCLA. 

Generous support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard Nimoy, Good Works Foundation and Laura Donnelley, an anonymous donor, and all Hammer members. 

The Hammer’s digital presentation of its public programs is made possible by the Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation.

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