Installation of Paul McCarthy's Work "Henry Moore Bound to Fail" in Vienna

Written by Connie Danforth Thursday, 23 June 2011 20:52

VIENNA.- The American artist Paul McCarthy’s work Henry Moore Bound to Fail presented by KÖR on public space karlsplatz relates to Henry Moore not only formally, but also topographically: it is positioned in a place that guarantees visual contact with the British sculptor’s Hill Arches in front of St. Charles’s Church. Paul McCarthy’s bronze holds a special position within the artist’s oeuvre in terms of design and material. McCarthy quite often develops his motifs over long periods of time; this sculpture’s origin is a miniature figure from 1960/61 which did not explicitly relate to Henry Moore at that time. Only when the artist took up the form again in 2003/2004, he emphasized the similarities to the Englishman’s sculptures and included his name in the title of the work.

The smooth surface with its soft appearance and the abstract and yet torso-like form rotating around its own axis actually suggest an appropriation of Henry Moore’s aesthetic along the lines of the 1960s’ art of the same name. Thus, the sculpture falls into line with the rest of McCarthy’s work in which the ironic and subversive reinterpretation of established art styles’ extant materials have always featured prominently.

Paul McCarthy, born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1945, lives and works in Los Angeles and ranks among today’s most influential artists. His oeuvre encompasses drawings, sculptures, actions and performances, videos, photographs, and installations. His works are mostly characterized by tongue-in-cheek references and sexual provocation and follow in the tradition of Viennese Actionism, Surrealism, Happening, and Fluxus.

McCarthy studied art at the University of Utah in 1969. He went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a BFA in painting. In 1972 he studied film, video, and art at the University of Southern California receiving an MFA. From 1982 to 2002 he has taught performance, video, installation, and performance art history at the University of California, Los Angeles. McCarthy currently works mainly in video and sculpture.

McCarthy has created several Christmas-themed works. Through them, he combines the dismal aesthetic and the real meaning of Christmas. His 2001 'Santa Claus' was created for the City of Rotterdam. Due to some controversies (there were a lot of sexual connotations with this work of art, as it was called Gnome Buttplug), the statue wasn't placed at its original meant location 'De Koopgoot', but was placed on November 28, 2008 on the Eendrachtsplein in Rotterdam.

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