GENEVA (AFP) - A giant inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday.

The art work, titled "Complex Shit", is the size of a house.  The wind carried it 200 metres (yards) from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner.

The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said.  The art work has a safety system which normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away.

Steiner said McCarthy had not yet been contacted and the museum was not sure if the piece would be put back on display.

I've been reading a bit about Paul McCarthy, the artist responsible for the dog shit inflatable that went AWOL in Switzerland last week and provided the ideal platform for a cheap gag at the expense of Bristol's Tories.

I'm especially impressed by his 1976 piece, Class Fool, in which he threw himself around a ketchup-spattered classroom at the University of California, knocked himself out, vomited several times and then inserted a Barbie doll into his rectum.

... Sounds a bit like the East Bristol Lib Dems.

A giant inflatable dog turd brought down a power line after being blown away from a Swiss museum.

The artwork, entitled Complex Shit, was carried 200 metres on the night of 31 July, reportedly breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again.

The sculpture, by American artist Paul McCarthy, was equipped with a safety system that should have deflated it.

I want to know how they know it's doggy doo doos.  Just cos you call something a spade ...

A giant inflatable dog turd brought down a power line after being blown away from a Swiss museum.

Full story here.

Nu știu dacă ați auzit de Paul McCarthy . De curând a lansat niște căcați artistici prin Elveția. Și elvețienii, normal, sunt pe spate. Așteaptă ploaia.

Ploaia de monede cu care baciu Jones și-a tras un Chevy nou. Ăștia care faceți bani din bloguri, acceptați monede? Sau aveți numai pastile Orbit pentru rest?

God, well known as creator of the universe, Mary's favourite guy, and father of the late JC; confirmed his Omnipotent Art Critic status yesterday, by giving Paul McCarthy firm instruction to harden the fuck up and stop being such a wanker.

McCarthy, while displaying some talent, is also sadly guilty of displaying a blatent lack of being hugged much as a child. Some of his previous artworks have included such delightfully enchanting pieces as "Santa with Buttplug"  and the ever popular"Daddies Bighead". If thats not proof enough for ya that McCarthy has struggled somewhat to adjust to normal adult life, consider this charming extract from the Tate Modern website:

"Ketchup has been a pivotal motif through all of McCarthy's work. He has frequently used ketchup in his performances and installations, along with other kitchen table foodstuffs such as mayonnaise and chocolate, as stand-ins for bodily fluids and excretions. These grocery staples of domestic family life are transformed in McCarthy's work into representations of violence, sex and defecation." Well isn't that fucking charming hey.

His latest um piece, "Complex Shit" , a house sized, inflatable dog crap, (which when you think about it, really isn't all that complex at all) however was one step too far for Big G. Whilst on display at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, the inflatable was dealt with by the Almighty himself. High winds sent from the Most High carried the pile of shit 200 metres on the night of 31 July, reportedly breaking greenhouse windows and bringing down electricity lines. Read the whole story here or here (with picture). You've been warned Paulie, God is gonna seriously fuck your shit up if you don't start doing something worthwhile.

Speaking of worthwhile art, read about Phil Hansen here.

God bless you, Paul McCarthy. Not only did you make the world's fanciest chocolate Santa Claus holding a buttplug, but now we have you to thank for providing us with a news story that includes the following paragraph:

The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said. The art work has a safety system which normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away.

I'm sure you had nothing to do with this mysterious incident, Paul (link not safe for work unless... well, use your best judgment). Pictures of the inflatable turd before its escape can be found on the Zentrum Paul Klee website.

It was supposed to be one of those exhibits that blows the visitors away: Paul McCarthy’s huge brown inflatable dog turd, as big as a house, aptly named “Complex Shit.” In case of heavy winds, the Zentrum Paul Klee, a cutting edge art museum in Bern, Switzerland, was confident the brown pile would deflate. However, when the wind picked up, the mechanism failed, and the pile of nasty hit a power line and knocked the windows out of a greenhouse before finally landing at a children’s home across the street.

You couldn’t make this stuff up, even if you tried. And why would you?

I don't feel it necessary to comment on this article as I think it speaks for itself. From The Australian:

A GIANT inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy has blown away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before landing again.

The art work, titled Complex Shit, is the size of a house.

The wind carried it 200 metres from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner.

The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said.

The art work has a safety system that normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away.

Steiner said McCarthy had not yet been contacted and the museum was not sure if Complex Shit would be put back on display.

http://current.com/items/89193650_giant_inflatable_turd_causes_havoc_in_switzerland

Paul Mccarthy hace esculturas de esta maxi talla y en muchas de ellas RESALTA y a lo grande las "cualidades" de ellos, vamos que les pone cada cosa descomunal...jajaja. Para muchos puede parecer una grosería pero a mi me dan risa..jajaj

Photographer Nick Knight worked with Dazed & Confused and their fashion team to "create digital collage, mixing a new shoot with images from the past and clothing from both 1992 and 2002 collections. It is a celebration of 10 years of Dazed and Confused and a tribute of some of the photographers and artists who have been so important in shaping the magazine."

There are works by:

Alexander McQueen, Alexei Hay, Alife, Chloe Sevigny, Chris Moore, Deidre O'Callaghan, Derek Riggs, Eminem, Harmony Korine, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Jamie Hewlett, Jenny Saville, Jenny Van Sommers, Jeremy Scott, Jodie Clarke, Julie Verhoeven, Kate Moss, Kurt Cobain, Kusama, Magnus Unnar, Marc Quinn, martin Parr, Martina Hoogland Ivanow, Paulo Sutch, Paul McCarthy, Ohil Poynter, Richard Prince, Simon Foxton, Sophie Calle, Sylvia Farago, Terry Richardson, Yukio Mishiuma."

This is a MUST SEE, the pictures are AWESOME!

via Dazed Digital

From June 28 til September 28 Lustwarande will take place at De Oude Warande, Tilburg. Some great artists like Paul McCarthy (the visual artist), David Bade and Brian Griffiths have made site specific work.

Here in the BAVC Preservation department, we have recently digitized 1/2" open reel tapes for artist Paul McCarthy. McCarthy, who studied painting at the SF Art Institute in the 60's, is probably best known for his transgressive performance art (including performances in the 90's when he turned into Santa Claus into a dirty old man - literally - nose running and face bloodied, as he smeared himself with food and various fluids.

One of the videos BAVC has preserved and digitized includes a television commercial for Pup 'n' Taco, followed by the 5 o'clock News which makes for an interesting time capsule. Watch a little of the video . . .

[blip.tv ?posts_id=993492&dest=-1]

More videos by Paul McCarthy can be seen here.

Bischofberger of Zurich has placed a reserve on Van Gogh's 1887 "Vue de la chambre de l'artiste, rue Lepic".  The painting last sold at Christie's New York in May 2007 for nearly $5 million with premium.

Zurich and London based Hauser & Wirth is reporting that they have sold three sculptures by Paul McCarthy for $1.8 million each.  Gallery director Iwan Wirth said that "The opening of Art Basel is one of the few situations where dealers can recreate the competition of an auction."  Wirth also commented on the lack of American buyers, but noted, "This is probably our best ever Art Basel...Although we've sold less to Americans, we've met a lot of new buyers." [source]

這兩個在新媒體中曾經/仍然舉足輕重的字彙，大體延續了Diorama後的感觀經驗。機械、電子及電腦的運用毋疑比起靜態藝術踏前一大步的。你可能會反駁即使畫家亦可以透過色調運用、構圖比例、畫幅尺寸等等來帶領觀眾的目光而產生一定程度的互動和浸沉。不錯！Panoramic Painting會是一例。但暫時不作討論，因為上述兩位藝術家的作品是以電腦及機械技術為主的。有學者認為「新媒體」應該以一種新的美學觀念對待之，但個人仍然相信它是不能亦不應完全從靜態藝術的Context中抽離。

對Jeffrey Shaw的作品不再多談。他至今仍深具影響力，但較近期的作品反而默守在從中央向外觀察的固有關係上。他在研究會上自辯說這是從研究結果得來最合適的方案，我反覺得這樣會扼殺了互動性而純粹在浸沉的方向上打圈，而觀眾好像一位在操作軟件的用家。期待著他的新作新面貌。Marnix比較多元化，除了上述提到的作品，最近仍在開發中的Exercise in Immersion 4，將真實空間與虛擬空間結合的遊戲藝術 art-game，便突破了「緊守崗位」的格局。雖然隨著學者對所謂真實Reality提出了各式各樣條件基礎，使這個結合Physical Reality and Virtual Reality的研究僅僅滿足了類似Sci-fi對fantasy的需求，對於我這種不嗜打機的傢伙沒什麼吸引力，但仍期待隨著研究的成功與普及，能為其他頭腦靈活的藝術家提供「再創造」的可能。

今年修習遊戲理論 Game Theory 這門對許多「正經」的學者來說有些「偏門」的科目，但當中討論到在亞洲未算普及，但在歐美早己火紅的Second Life時，實在有些掙扎。它帶給你「重新做人」的fantasy：在現實生活中無法以「天價」置業，但在遊戲內卻能買島興建自己的Neverland！Sim類型的遊戲總是令人迷惑。我本身不是 Second Life 玩家，卻為了第四天無法親臨會場而安裝。發覺它比數年前的Virtual Gallery成熟，能提供多采多姿的選擇，而它更是研究新媒體的學生/教授們的「紅盤」。我順道利用我的「第二條命」參觀了十多個展覽及現場演出，水準暫時仍「不堪入目」，但不難發現它實實在在開創了好些新渠道(相信廣告商會最樂見其成)。現階段它仍不容易產生遊戲行為的沉迷效應(Addiction)，若生活中覺得廿四小時也不夠用的人會懷疑為什麼還要「第二生命」，在那裏生活可得花上一番時間。但這類大型平台式遊戲真的不容忽視，尤其它的可擴充性十分靈活，比Exercise in Immersion 4更容易產生Immersion!當使用遊戲的介面/工具更人性化的時候，當它的功能與現實生活更融合之後，它可能不僅僅取代瀏覽器哪麼簡單。

大型遊戲加上Exercise in Immersion 4虛/實模擬又如何？我想大家不妨與現實生活中的大型遊戲比較，試看看歐洲千人參與的超大型彩蛋槍戰Mahlwinkel paintball，你或許可以自己領略一下。

幸好有些事物總是難以替代，就好像Ken Jacobs今次的示範作。詳情下一篇再談。

個人而言，覺得更具代表性的可能是上月剛在比利時S.M.A.K.當代藝術館結束的Paul McCarthy四十年回顧展，展出佔去近四份一面積的大型表演錄像裝置「加勒比海盜」(Caribbean Pirates)。當中以多部攝影機拍攝、以十多部投影機不規則播放的安排、觀眾隨意走動卻逃不過令人窒息的茄汁血腥與色情影像，對荷李活電影的「浸沉」、「濫情」致敬。我浸浴其中約一小時後，不得不走出場館重新呼吸。沒有高科技，仍具震撼！

再回心細想，對我最能產生Interactivity and Immersion，可能只是四個中文字：四面楚歌。這種積累下來的複雜感覺，其感染力可比任何一種裝置更深。文字，永遠不可小觀！當然這又是另一個課題了。

....I love my wife.

Paul McCarthy loved his wife Linda McCarthy, too. That's why he wrote the song "Baby I'm Amazed".

Paul wrote the song in 1969, just after The Beatles' breakup. He credited his wife Linda with helping him get through the difficult time. And that is the reason why this song inspires me.

When I hear this song, I can relate to it. Like Paul, I was totally lonely and in the middle of my sexual sin. I hid it, and didn't want to talk about it. I really didn't understand how I got in that mess, nor could I remotely begin to figure out how I was going to get out of this mess.

But then, God brought my wife back into my life. Well, she never left physically, maybe emotionally some, but she stayed with me. Through the grace of God, she endured my crap and my lies over and over again.  Yet, she encouraged me to seek help and get better.

Paul said his wife was the only woman who could ever help him. I too, really feel deep in my heart and soul, that there is no other woman on this EARTH who could have helped me get up and keep fighting. My loving, gracious, glorious and beautiful wife has inspired me to be a better HUSBAND, a better FATHER or a better MAN.

My wife is truly a virtuous woman who builds up her household with her hands. She helps me sing my song and rights me when I'm wrong and I truly need her in my life forever.

Look at and listen to this truly inspirational song, and LISTEN TO THE CHORUS to hear my life in Paul's lyrics.

Baby I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you
Baby I'm amazed at the the way you pulled me out of time
Hung me on a line
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you

Baby I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely man
Who's in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand
Babe I'm a man and maybe you're the only woman
Who could ever help me
Baby wont you help to me understand

Baby I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely man
Who's in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand
Babe I'm a man and maybe you're the only woman
Who could ever help me
Baby wont you help me understand

Baby I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you
Baby I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song
You right me when I'm wrong
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you

A friend showed me a recent video by the artist Paul Mc Carthy called "Painter" where the artist walks around in his usual absurd costume in an abject performance. Big ears, a big nose, a bathrobe and giant tubes of paint titled "shit" ties into a view (probably freudian) that artists are working from their shit. In modernism many painters were releasing their anxiety onto the canvas. In fact, contemporary artists have been applying fecal matter for a while, off hand Warhol had studio assistants pee on canvases.

Mc Carthy in the performance says, "try to listen, try to move, try to think" Try to paint... then he launches into a mantra, oh fuck Im painting, oh fuck Im painting, oh fuck Im painting, on and on agian, try to understand the emotions, try to see what I am saying" Later launches into repeating God, God, God.

Modern concerns in painting, struggle, and communication, conflict with feeling like a god, or communicating with God.

The hobby like painting show then goes onto showing him mixing paint (albeit profane and incompetent) or at least attempting too. He starts to whine...You cant do it anymore...You cant do it anymore...You cant do it anymore...

Whether or not he is attacking painting as a current powerhouse of the market, or making a statement on the futility of painting, or showing his frustrations I thought it was interesting. Maybe all of the above are issues in the video.

Painting rolls on like a freight train, no matter what is said, critics and theorists will see painting keep coming, like a pitbull in a cage. Theres something about the act of applying paint to a surface that's too close to our core as human beings for it to be made mute.

Today in my exhibition someone told me the paintings were "real paintings" I said I wanted to make work that's living, alive, active surfaces, power, the material of paint as an active element. The trains a-coming Paul.

Paul Mc Carthy: Painting