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This Is Not A Joke: Maurizio Cattelan's Site Specific Practice

Little attention has been given to studying the important nuances and contributions of individual works by the artist Maurizio Cattelan. Since beginning his career as an "art world outsider," the artist has consistently resisted categorization of his work, be it stylistic, nationalistic or ideological. This has made an approach based on examining his social and political context in relation to individual works rather difficult. Instead, the scholarship surrounding his art has most frequently been in the form of a survey, using his earlier conceptual pieces to contextualize later installations and sculptures, an approach that limits a fuller understanding of Cattelan's art. Rather than reading specific works in the context of their individual exhibition history, critics place them in the trajectory of Cattelan's overall practice. Furthermore, much of the existing scholarship has relied on the artist's own discussions of his oeuvre, providing a superficial understanding of both his work and words. Thus, Cattelan has been generally understood and labeled the art-world "joker," and his artwork is seen as a series of "one-liners," limiting the reading of his work. I propose, instead, an in-depth study of specific sculptures, which will lead to a richer understanding of the artist's overall practice within a historical and contextual period. In my opinion, Cattelan's work has been overlooked in relation to notions of site specificity. Through a close reading of Cattelan's most pivotal work, La Nona Ora, I will argue that this artistic paradigm will prove a much more effective lens through which to view his practice. / Art History

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/2934
Date January 2014
CreatorsGoldman, Sasha Bianca
ContributorsSilk, Gerald
PublisherTemple University. Libraries
Source SetsTemple University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation, Text
Format57 pages
RightsIN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Relationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/2916, Theses and Dissertations

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