Many years ago, I witnessed a Paul McCarthy video that made a lasting impression on me. It showed a weird scene in which a clownish person continually smashed his hand with a big hammer. It was both repulsive and burlesque and it got stuck in my mind forever.
So it goes without saying that I was really looking forward to the Paul McCarthy retrospective in the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art – Ghent. After all, it’s the first time in Europe that people get the chance to see a cross selection of his entire works. Last Friday, I finally paid a visit to Head Shop/Shop Head – Works 1966-2006 and again, McCarthy made an overwhelming impression on me!
Although definitely not for the faint of heart, Paul McCarthy’s art never becomes gratuitous and his indictment of society is always perceptible. In his 1976 video ‘Class Fool’ for example, we see how he throws himself around a classroom covered in ketchup until he is too injured and dazed to continue, subsequently vomiting and then inserting a Barbie doll into his rectum. The audience in the class room is clearly upset and doesn’t know what to expect; the terror becomes almost unbearable. But who’s the real victim? Are we observers or accomplices?
The Paul McCarthy retrospective 1966-2006 shows a varied selection of probing performance videos, photographs, installations and settings and is a unique experience that you won’t forget easily!
(an in-depth commentary can be found here)
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