10/31/10
Eerie Art: Cattelan's HIM
In honor of Halloween, I thought I would write about the scariest artwork I've seen -- Maurizio Cattelan's HIM. I first encountered the sculpture at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and it was a jarring experience. The work is meant to be approached from behind so when I first peeked into the gallery I thought it was a perfectly innocuous sculpture of a sweet, innocent boy. But upon entering further and turning around to look closer at the boy, I was surprised to see the adult face of Hitler. It's not clear whether he is praying, begging for forgiveness, contrite or steely-eyed. Cattelan's combination of man/boy qualities in this sculpture too make me wonder whether nature or nurture is more to blame for evil. It's a powerful experience that raises a lot of questions for me. What do you think? What's the scariest artwork you've seen?
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That is pretty unsettling. Nothing delivers a shock to the psyche like a "childlike" Hitler!
ReplyDeleteExactly! Hard to believe a little sculpture can pack this kind of punch.
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