z01_978-0-7546-6974-6_01

Contemporary Art and

Classical Myth

Edited byIsabelle Loring Wallace and Jennie Hirsh

ASHGATE

Contents

List ofIllustrations

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgemen ts

Introduction

Isabelle Loring Wallace and Jennie Hirsh

Prologue

1 Faraway, So Close: Mythic Origins,

Contemporary Art: The Case of Kara Walker

Lisa Saltzman

Section I: Myth as Meaning

2 A Poetics of Becoming: The Mythography of Cy Twombly

Craig G. Staff

3 Art is Glimpsed

Sharon Hecker

4 Narcissus, Narcosis, Neurosis: The Visions of Yayoi Kusama

Jody B. Cutler

5 The Porous Space of Bracha L. Ettinger's Eurydices

Marissa Vigneaiilt

6 Double Take, or Theorizing Reflection in Felix Gonzalez-Torr

Jennie Hirsh

Vi CONTEMPORARY ART AND CLASSICAL MYTH

Section II: Myth as Medium

7 Lichtenstein's Narcissus 159

Graham Bader

8 Philomela as Metaphor: Sexuality, Pornography,and Seduction in the Textile Works of Tracey Emin

andGhadaAmer 175

Giulia Lamoni

9 Icarus Returned: The Falling Man and the Survival of Antiquity 199

Sharon Sliwinski

10 Deep Shit: Thoughts on Wim Delvoye's Cloaca Project 217

Isabelle Loring Wallace

Section III: Myth as Method

11 A New Parrhasius: Duane Hanson's Uncanny Realism 245

Elizabeth Mansfield

12 Over and Over, Again and Again 267

Emma Cocker

13 Video Art in the House of Hades 295

Sophie-Isabelle Dufour

Section IV: Epilogue

14 The Sphinx Unwinds Her Own Sweet Self 313

Joanna Frueh

Bibliography 339

Index 365

List of Illustrations

Color Plates

1 Jean-Leon Gerome, Pygmalion and

Galatea, 1890, 35 x 27 in. (88.9 * 68.6 cm),oil on canvas. Gift of Louis C. Raegner,1927. Image © The MetropolitanMuseum of Art.

2 Kara Walker, Gone, An Historical

Romance of a Civil War as it Occurred

Between the Dusky Thighs of One

Young Negress and Her Heart, 1994,

180 x 600 in. (15 * 50 ft.), cut paper.

Installation at Walker Art Center.

Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema

Jenkins & Co., New York.

3 Cy Twombly, Proteus, 1984, 76 x 56.5

cm, acrylic, colored pencil on paper.

© Cy Twombly. Courtesy of Gagosian

Gallery, New York.

4 Luciano Fabro, Piedi (Feet), 1968/1972,

100 x 80 x 350 cm, dimensions variable

depending on the height of the ceiling.Murano glass and silk shantung.

Photograph: Luciano Fabro. Private

Collection. © Silvia Fabro/Archivio

Luciano Fabro.

5 Yayoi Kusama, My Floivev Bed,

1962, 250 x 250 x 250 cm, bedsprings,work gloves, paint, mixed media. ©

Yayoi Kusama. Musee national d'art

moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou.

Photograph credit: CNAC/MNAM/

Dist. Reunion des musees nationaux/

Art Resource, NY; photography by

Philippe Migeat.

6 Bracha L. Ettinger, Enrydice, n. 1,

1992-94, 39 x 25.5 cm, oil and mixed

media on paper mounted on canvas.

© Bracha L. Ettinger.

7 Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled"

(Orpheus, Twice), 1991, 75 x 55 in.

overall, two parts: 75 x 25Vi in. each,

mirror. Installation view of Group show

at Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York,

1991. Photograph: Peter Muscato. ©

Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation.

Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery,New York.

8 Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled,"

1992-95, two parts: 12 ft. or 24 ft. in

diameter each. Overall dimensions: 24

x 12 ft. or 48 x 24 ft., height varies with

installation; ideal visible height is 14 to

16 in., medium varies with installation,

water. Installation view Felix Gonzalez-

Torres: America, 52lul Venice Biennale,

2007. Photograph: Ellen Page Wilson.

© Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation.

Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New

York.

9 Roy Lichtenstein, Look Mickey, 1961,

122 x 175 cm, oil on canvas, National

Gallery of Art, Washington DC, gift of

Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein in Honor

Vlii CONTEMPORARY ART AND CLASSICAL MYTH

of the 50th Anniversary of the National

Gallery of Art. © Board of Trustees,

National Gallery of Art, Washington

DC/DACS 2010.

10 Ghada Amer, Girls in White—RFGA,

2004, 48 x 52 in. (122 * 132.1 cm), acrylic,

embroidery, and gel medium on canvas.

© Reza Farkhondeh/Ghada Amer.

Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York.

11 Richard Drew, September 11,2001.

Image © The Associated Press.

12 Wim Delvoye, Cloaca New &

Improved Logo, 2001, dimensions

variable. Image courtesy of Wim

Delvoye.

13 Jasper Johns, Moratorium, 1969,

image: 17Vs * 25% in. (43.5 x 65.8 cm);sheet: 20Vi x 289/i6 in. (52.1 x 72.6 cm),

lithograph, Harvard Art Museum,

Cambridge. Art © Jasper Johns and

U.L.A.E./Licensed by VAGA, New York,

NY. Published by U.L.A.E.

14 Francis Alys and Julien Devaux,

Caracoles, 1999, still from a color video,

4 minutes 20 seconds, from Rehearsal I

(Emayo I), 1999-2004. Courtesy of the

artist and David Zwirner, New York.

15 Bill Viola, Going Forth By Day, 2002,

"The Voyage" (Panel 4), video/sound

installation, a five-part projected imagecycle. Photograph: Kira Perov.

16 Joanna Frueh and Russell Dudley,Venus Veriicordia 2005, 2004, 42% x 31%

in. framed, Ultrachrome.

Black ano White Illustrations

1 Faraway, So Close: Mythic Origins,Contemporary Art: The Case of Kara

Walker

1.1 Joseph Wright of Derby, The

Corinthian Maiden, 1782-84,106.3 x 130.8

cm (41% x 51.1/2 in.) unframed, oil on

canvas, Paul Mellon Collection, National

Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

1.2 Kara Walker, Before the Battle

(Chickin' Dumplin'), 1995, 48 x 54 in., cut

paper on canvas. Courtesy of Sikkema

Jenkins & Co., New York.

2 A Poetics of Becoming: The

Mythography of Cy Twombly

2.1 Cy Twombly, Bacchus, 1981,210.5

x 150.5 cm and 70 * 63 cm, triptych,

collage, oil, crayon, pastel, and gouacheon paper. © Cy Twombly.

2.2 Cy Twombly, Libation ofPriapus,1982,167 x 118.8 cm, oil, crayon, and

colored pencil on paper, © Cy Twombly.Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York.

3 Art is Glimpsed

3.1 Luciano Fabro, Penelope, 1972,

dimensions variable, wall, needles, and

silk thread. Photograph: Luciano Fabro.

Collection of the artist. © Silvia Fabro/

Archivio Luciano Fabro.

3.2 Luciano Fabro, Gioiello ]ole

(jewel ]ole), 1973, 200 x 100 x 5 cm.

Photograph: Luciano Fabro. Private

Collection. © Silvia Fabro/Archivio

Luciano Fabro.

3.3 Penelope by A. Bourdelle Looks

at Penelope by Luciano Fabro, Musee

Bourdelle, 1912 and 2004, 240 x 90 x 67

cm (Bourdelle), dimensions variable

(Fabro), bronze (Bourdelle) and

needle/thread (Fabro). Courtesy Musee

Bourdelle.

3.4 Luciano Fabro, Penelope, 1972,

dimensions variable, detail of needle,

needle and silk Shantung thread.

Photograph: Silvia Fabro. © Silvia Fabro/Archivio Luciano Fabro.

3.5 Luciano Fabro, Fib e ago (Needleand Thread), dimensions variable.

List ofIllustrations ix

Photograph: Luciano Fabro. © Silvia

Fabro/Archivio Luciano Fabro.

3.6 Luciano Fabro, La Vera (The Wedding

Ring), 1969, 48 x 30 * 0.8 cm, leather,

gold wedding ring, and black-and-white

photograph. Private Collection. © Silvia

Fabro/Archivio Luciano Fabro.

3.7 Luciano Fabro, Tamerlano, 1968, 20

x 15 x 5 cm, gilded bronze. Photograph:Luciano Fabro. Private Collection.

© Silvia Fabro/Archivio Luciano

Fabro.

3.8 Luciano Fabro, Nadezda, 1990, 230 x

100 x 100 cm, marble, canvas, and book.

Collection of the artist. © Silvia Fabro/

Archivio Luciano Fabro.

3.9 Luciano Fabro Installs his Piedi at the

Venice Biennale, 1972. Private Collection.

© Fondazione Ugo Mulas. Photograph:

Ugo Mulas. © Heirs of Ugo Mulas. All

rights reserved.

3.10 Luciano Fabro, II piede di Penelope

(Penelope's Foot), 1992, 69.3 x 49.4

cm, pencil on paper, Kunstmuseum

Winterthur. Bequeathed by Johannes

Gachnang, 2006.

4 Narcissus, Narcosis, Neurosis:

The Visions of Yayoi Kusama

4.1 Yayoi Kusama in Infinity Mirror

Room - Phalli's Field at Castellane Gallery,New York, 1965, 98V4 x 179 x 179 in. (250 x

455 x 455 cm), sewn stuffed fabric, board,

mirror room. © Yayoi Kusama. Courtesy

Gagosian Gallery, New York.

4.2 Yayoi Kusama, Flower, 1953 and

1963, 15% x 13V4 in. (40.1 x 33.8 cm),

ink, gouache, and pastel on paper, the

Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Purchased with funds given by Sheldon

H. Solow. (210.1996). © Yayoi Kusama.

Image copyright: The Museum of

Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art

Resource, New York.

4.3 Yayoi Kusama selling mirror balls

to passersby in her installation Narcissus

Garden at the 33rd Venice Biennale,

1966, dimensions variable, mirror balls.

© Yayoi Kusama. Courtesy Gagosian

Gallery, New York.

4.4 Yayoi Kusama, Fireflies on the

Water, 2002, 111 x 144V* x 144Vi in.

(281.9 x 367 x 367 cm), mirror, plexiglas,150 lights and water. © Yayoi Kusama.

The Whitney Museum of American

Art, New York; purchase, with funds

from the Postwar Committee and the

Contemporary Painting and SculptureCommittee and partial gift of BetsyWittenborn Miller, 2003.322a-t*.

Photography by Adam Reich; courtesy

of Robert Miller Gallery.

5 The Porous Space of Bracha L.

Stringer's Eurydices

5.1 Bracha L. Ettinger, Eurydice, 11. 5,

1992-94, 47 x 27 cm, oil and mixed



5.2 Bracha L. Ettinger, Eurydice, n. 4,

1992-94, 36.8 x 27 cm, oil and mixed




1992-95, 36 * 24.2 cm, oil and mixed




1992-96, 37 x 25.5 cm, oil and mixed



6 Double Take, or Theorizing

Reflection in Felix Gonzalez-Torres

6.1 Felix Gonzalez-Torres,"Untitled"

(Blue Mirror), 1990, 28 in. at ideal heightx 29 x 23 in., offset print on blue paper,

endless copies. Installation view of

X CONTEMPORARY ART AND CLASSICAL MYTH

artedomani: 1990 punto di vista, Ex-

Ospedale San Matteo degli Infermi,

Spoleto, 1990. Photograph: Paolo Pellion.

Courtesy Galleria Comunale d'Arte

Moderna, Spoleto. © Felix Gonzalez-

Torres Foundation. Courtesy Andrea

Rosen Gallery, New York.

6.2 Felix Gonzalez-Torres. "Untitled"

(March 5,h) #1,1991,12 x 24 in. overall;

two parts: 12 in. diameter each, mirror.

Installation view of Robert Gober, Felix

Gonzalez-Torres: A Shadow Leaving An

Object, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New

York, 2008. Photograph: Jeremy Lawson.


Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New

York.

6.3 Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled"

(Perfect Lovers), 1991, wall clocks and

paint on wall, overall dimensions vary

with installation. Clock installation: 14

x 28 x 2% in; two parts: 14 in. diameter

each. Photograph: Peter Muscato. ©

Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation.

Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New

York.


(Loverboy), 1989, dimensions vary

with installation, blue sheer fabric and

hanging device. And"Untitled" (March

5th) #1,1991,12 x 24 in. overall; two parts:12 in. diameter each, mirror. Installation

view of Itinerari at Castello di Rivara,

Turin, 1991. Photograph: Giorgio Mussa.


Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery,New York.


(Water), 1995, dimensions vary with

installation, strands of beads and

hanging device. Installation view of

Carnegie International 1999/2000 at

Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh.

Photograph: Richard A. Stoner. © Felix

Gonzalez-Torres Foundation. CourtesyAndrea Rosen Gallery, New York.

7 Lichtensteirt's Narcissus

7.1 Roy Lichtenstein, Temple ofApollo,1964,239 x 325 cm, oil and Magna on

canvas. Private Collection. © Estate of

Roy Lichtenstein/DACS 2010.

7.2 Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi

da), Narcissus, c.1597-99,110 x 92 cm,

oil on canvas. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte

Antica, Rome. Photograph: Alinari/Art

Resource, New York.

7.3 Illustration by Bob Grant and

Bob Totten from Carl Buettner, Donald

Duck Lost and Found, 1960. © Disney

Enterprises, Inc.

7.4 Roy Lichtenstein, Artist's Studio

"Look Mickey," 1973, 244 x 325 cm, oil,

Magna, and sand on canvas. Walker

Art Center, Minneapolis, Gift of Judyand Kenneth Dayton and the T.B.

Walker Foundation. © Estate of RoyLichtenstein/DACS 2010.

8 Philomela as Metaphor: Sexuality,

Pornography, and Seduction in the

Textile Works of Tracey Emin and

Ghada Amer

8.1 Tracey Emin, Garden of Horror, 1998,

104V2 x 77 in. (264 x 195.6 cm), appliqueblanket. © the artist. Courtesy White

Cube.

8.2 Tracey Emin, Another Question,

2002, 715/s x 71% in. (182 x 182 cm),

applique and embroidery. © the artist.

Courtesy White Cube.

8.3 Tracey Emin, Pysco Slut, 1999, 96 x

76 in. (244 x 193 cm), applique blanket.

© the artist. Courtesy White Cube.

8.4 Ghada Amer, Greylhnan, 2001,

72 x 64 in. (182.9 x 162.6 cm), acrylic,

embroidery, and gel medium on canvas.

© Ghada Amer. Courtesy Gagosian

Gallery, New York. Photography byRobert McKeever.

List ofIllustrations xi

9 Icarus Returned: The Falling Manand the Survival of Antiquity

9.1 Brown Brothers, Triangle FactoryFire, 1911. Courtesy of the Franklin D.

Roosevelt Library.

9.2 Brown Brothers, Triangle FactoryFire, 1911. Courtesy of the Franklin D.

Roosevelt Library.

9.3 Brown Brothers, Triangle FactoryFire: Pavement Broken by Falling Bodies,1911. Courtesy of the Franklin D.

Roosevelt Library.

9.4 Antonio Tempesta, Ti%e Fall ofIcarus,1606, 10.3 x 11.7 cm. © Trustees of the

British Museum.

9.5 Detail of Tournai tapestry,mid-fifteenth century, Alexander's

Journey to the Sky, Palazzo Doria, Rome.

Photograph by Fratelli Alinari,

courtesy of the Warburg Institute.

10 Deep Shit: Thoughts on Wim

Delvoye's Cloaca Project

10.1 Wim Delvoye, Cloaca Original,2000,1,160 x 170 x 270 cm, mixed media.

Exhibition view: Museum Kunst Palast,

Dusseldorf. Image courtesy of Wim

Delvoye Studio.

10.2 Wim Delvoye, Cloaca New &

Improved, 2001,1,000 x 75 x 200 cm,

mixed media. Exhibition view: MigrosMuseum, Zurich. Image courtesy of Wim

Delvoye Studio.

10.3 Wim Delvoye, Personal Cloaca,

2006,100 x 68.5 x 100 cm, mixed media.

Image courtesy of Wim Delvoye Studio.

10.4 Wim Delvoye, Super Cloaca, 2007,

1,470 x 211 x 307 cm, mixed media,

Exhibition view: Mudam, Luxemburg.

Image courtesy of Wim Delvoye Studio.

10.5 Wim Delvoye, Mini Cloaca,

2007, 221 x 90 x 185 cm, mixed media.

Exhibition view: Casino Luxembourg,Luxembourg. Image courtesy of Wim

Delvoye Studio.

10.6 Wim Delvoye, Cloaca OriginalLogo, 2000, dimensions variable.

Image courtesy of Wim DelvoyeStudio.

10.7 Wim Delvoye, Cloaca New &

Improved, 2001,1,000 x 75 x 200 cm,

mixed media. Exhibition view: Ernst

Museum, Budapest. Image courtesy of

Wim Delvoye Studio.

11 A New Parrhasius: Duane

Hanson's Uncanny Realism

11.1 Art and Language (MichaelBaldwin and Mel Ramsdenj, Portrait ofV.I. Lenin with Cap, in the Style ofJacksonPollock III, 1980, 95Vi x 84 * 2 in. (242.4 x

213.4 x 5.2 cm), enamel on canvas, Tate

Modern, London.

11.2 Duane Hanson, Supermarket

Lady, 1970, 65% x 51 Vs x 25 V* in. (166x 130 x 65 cm), fiberglass, textiles,

shopping cart, packaging, polyesterresin, Ludwig Collection, Aachen.

Photograph courtesy of the BridgemanArt International. Art © Estate of

Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA,New York.

11.3 Duane Hanson, Janitor, 1973,

65 V* x 28 x 22 in. (166.4 x 71.1 x 55.9 cm),

polyester, fiberglass and mixed media,

Milwaukee Art Museum. Art © Estate of

Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA,New York.

11.4 Duane Hanson, Museum Guard,

1975, 69 x 21 x 13 in. (175.3 * 53.3 x 33

cm), polyester, fiberglass, oil, and vinyl,Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas

City. Gift of the Friends of Art, F76-40.

Photograph: Robert Newcombe. Art ©

Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed byVAGA, New York.

Xii CONTEMPORARY ART AND CLASSICAL MYTH

12 Over and Over, Againand Again

12.1 Bas Jan Ader, Broken Fall (Organic),Amsterdamse BOS, Holland 1971,

black and white 16 mm film, silent.

Total duration: 1 hour 44 minutes (titles18 minutes, film 1 hour 26 minutes).

Courtesy of the Bas Jan Ader Estate and

Patrick Painter Editions.

12.2 Bas Jan Ader, Nightfall, 1971, black

and white 16 mm film, silent. Total

duration: 4 hours 16 minutes (title 8

hours, film 4 hours 8 minutes). Courtesyof the Bas Jan Ader Estate and Patrick

Painter Editions.

12.3 Vlatka Horvat, This Here and

That There (Berlin), 2007, still from an

8-hour performance. Courtesy of Vlatka

Horvat.

12.4 Francis Alys, Paradox of Praxis1 (Sometimes Making Something Leads

to Nothing), 1997, photographicdocumentation of an action, Mexico City,video, 5-minutes loop. Courtesy David

Zwirner, New York.

13 Video Art in the House of Hades

13.1 Hieronymous Bosch, The Garden ofEarthly Delights, 1500-1505, 87 x 153 in.

(220 cm x 389 cm), oil on wood triptych,detail: right panel Hell, Prado Museum,

Madrid.

13.2 Bill Viola, Ocean Without a Shore,

2007. Installation view, Church of San

Gallo, Venice, video/sound installation,color high-definition video triptych, two

65 in. plasma screens, one 103 in. screen

mounted vertically, six loudspeakers(three pairs stereo sound), room

dimensions variable. Performer: Blake

Viola. Photograph: Thierry Bal.

13.3 Bill Viola, Ocean without a Shore,

2007, video/sound installation, color

high-definition video triptych, two 65

in. plasma screens, one 103 in. screen

mounted vertically, six loudspeakers

(three pairs stereo sound), room


Viola. Photograph: Kira Perov.

13.4 Bill Viola, Ocean zoithoiit a Shore,

2007, video/sound installation, color

high definition video triptych, two 65

in. plasma screens, one 103 in. screen

mounted vertically, six loudspeakers(three pairs stereo sound), room


Viola. Photograph: Kira Perov.

13.5 Bill Viola, The Passing, 1991.

In memory of Wynne Lee Viola.

Videotape, black-and-white, mono

sound; 54 minutes. Produced in

association with ZDF, Germany.

Photograph: Kira Perov.

14 The Sphinx Unwinds Her Own

Sweet Self

14.1 Jill O'Bryan and Joanna Frueh,

threshold, from the series Joanna in the

Desert, 2006, dimensions variable.


embodied theory, from the series Joanna in

the Desert, 2006, dimensions variable.


midsummer's day swoon, from the series

Joanna in the Desert, 2006, dimensions

variable.

14.4 Joanna Frueh and Russell Dudley,Aphrodite Salacia/Aphrodite Amazonia,

1999, dimensions variable.

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