Paul McCarthy

Biography

Paul McCarthy is pupil in several colleges of the Utah. In 1959, it carries out its first sculpture in Plâtre, Henry Moore bound to fail and, in 1964 - 1965, discovers the Pop art and more particularly the work of Robert Rauschenberg starting from materials of recovery.

He studies arts with the Université of Utah in 1969. He become acquainted there with Ralvo Puusemp which makes him discover Donald Judd and Yves Klein In 1966, the department of arts of the university creates a section of experimental Cinéma where he discovers films of Bruce Conner, Kenneth Anger, Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman and Andy Warhol and becomes acquainted with Stan Brakhage. In 1966 - 1967, it is interested in Gutaï, Yoko Ono, Ortiz, Gustav Metzger, Allan Kaprow, Wolf Vostell, then discovers the work of Bruce Nauman in 1967. It starts to think of the use of the Vidéo but is come up against the difficulty to get average the techniques necessary and starts by making some experimental films.

In 1968, it settles in California with San Francisco with the intention to make films. He studies with the San Francisco Art Institute , in the hope to find there a scene more experimental than in Utah, but where he discovers in fact a school of painting, very marked by the heritage of the abstract Expressionnisme Californian and that Bruce Nauman left to go to teach with Los Angeles. It obtains a Bachelor off Fine Arts in painting and takes share with the life of the communities of artists of San Francisco.

In spring 1969, Paul McCarthy returns in Utah. Not being made count for the War of Vietnam, it was found by the army only after it passed its diploma of Art Institute; when it is called up for the military service in 1969, it refuses to be built-in and spends one year in its family to be tempted to be made exempt by the Draft board. It settles then with Los Angeles and, in 1972, it is accepted with the University off Southern California , which then has an excellent school of cinema, turned towards Hollywood. It there studies at the same time in the department of art and the department of cinema and obtains a Master off Fine Arts . He then dreams “to make experimental films within cinema industry, in 'adapting industry; the idealistic dream of a resumption in hand a utopian and idealistic thought”. But its work, based on the execution of tasks ( task ), the repetition and the body, does not interest much the school of cinema of the university, which more does not share its interest for the video.

Since 1982, it teaches the history of the art performance , it video or the realization of artistic installations to the the University of California to Los Angeles.

Work

McCarthy started towards 1967 with paintings inspired of the universe of the automobile races, the series of the Dragster Cars Paintings , accumulations of engines, tanks, pilots of more than 2 meters in height. Then the series comes from the Black Paintings , painted flat on the ground with the hands then piled up and fixed the ones at the others. It then destroys them with the axe or fire with gasoline puts at it.

In 1967, it makes a film with two cameramen while placing in a house a naked man and a woman and who do not know themselves. The camera walks of the one to the other into panoramic.

McCarthy continues its artistic career with performances based on gravity. In 1974, its works are more aggressive and sexually explicit. Many works mix different liquids then symbolizing the excrements, sweat and blood. Its work was described then by some as being a brutal car-aggression. It carried out inflatable statues of big size which were exposed to the Tate Modern. Some represent heads of Pinocchio on a ludic mode.

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