Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (V2: Joe Amrhein), video still, 2001.
In the history of western art (and the medieval period in particular), the commissioner of works of art have often played a crucial role in the working out of the iconographical programme of the works of art - mostly inspired by religion. Indeed, countless altarpieces or paintings intended for private devotion are dedicated to the glory of those who paid for their creation as well as to the glory of the sacred character who is pictured. The artist honours his client, who places himself of his own volition under the divine protection; sometimes the artist takes the liberty to introduce a self-portrait into the scene, although this practice is especially the characteristic of seasoned painters. But for the prince or the rich bourgeois, paying for the work of art and being portrayed in it – it is the least one can do – is more than enough to be entitled to claim one’s place in Paradise: it is out of the question for him to suffer martyrdom as the saint who honours him with his clemency…
With “Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art?”, Matt Marello casts a new light on the relationships between the artist and the commissioner. The scenes which make up the series are extracted from three films which are very different from each other: “Duel” by Steven Spielberg (1971), “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Robert Enrico (1962), and “Operation Crossbow” by Michael Anderson (1965). But they all have something in common: a scene in which a character dies in a spectacular way. In “Duel,” the unfortunate hero is being pursued by a huge truck on the barren desert roads of California, until the final scene of the accident; in “Operation Crossbow,” a pilot crashes while piloting a jet plane prototype; in “ Owl Creek,” a man is hanged from a bridge at the end of a macabre ritual conducted by a group of soldiers during the Civil War.
In each of these sequences, Marello digitally inserts himself or the commissioner in place of the original victim; he modifies the rules of order and of self-portrait: hanged from a bridge, crashed in a car accident, or smashed to pieces while a flying bomb is falling, the commissioner – or the artist – demonstrates that he is effectively ready to die for art. The sequence out of “Owl Creek” goes even beyond that: in the short story by Ambrose Pierce on which this short film is based, the main character, unfairly condemned to be hanged for treason, imagines himself escaping death at the last moment; the story merges then with his desperate dream of escaping. Marello does not let his character have this fragile hope: he wanted to die for art, so let him die!
© Pierre-Yves Desaive (Brussels, 2002)
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (V2: Matt Marello), video, 2:00.
With “Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art?”, Matt Marello casts a new light on the relationships between the artist and the commissioner. The scenes which make up the series are extracted from three films which are very different from each other: “Duel” by Steven Spielberg (1971), “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Robert Enrico (1962), and “Operation Crossbow” by Michael Anderson (1965). But they all have something in common: a scene in which a character dies in a spectacular way. In “Duel,” the unfortunate hero is being pursued by a huge truck on the barren desert roads of California, until the final scene of the accident; in “Operation Crossbow,” a pilot crashes while piloting a jet plane prototype; in “ Owl Creek,” a man is hanged from a bridge at the end of a macabre ritual conducted by a group of soldiers during the Civil War.
In each of these sequences, Marello digitally inserts himself or the commissioner in place of the original victim; he modifies the rules of order and of self-portrait: hanged from a bridge, crashed in a car accident, or smashed to pieces while a flying bomb is falling, the commissioner – or the artist – demonstrates that he is effectively ready to die for art. The sequence out of “Owl Creek” goes even beyond that: in the short story by Ambrose Pierce on which this short film is based, the main character, unfairly condemned to be hanged for treason, imagines himself escaping death at the last moment; the story merges then with his desperate dream of escaping. Marello does not let his character have this fragile hope: he wanted to die for art, so let him die!
© Pierre-Yves Desaive (Brussels, 2002)
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (V2: Matt Marello), video, 2:00.
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (V2: Joe Amrhein), video, 2:00.
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (Owl Creek: Matt Marello), video, 2:00.
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (Owl Creek: Omer Fast), video, 2:00.
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (Duel: Matt Marello), video, 2:00.
Matt Marello, Death Wish or, Who Wants to Die for Art? (Duel: David Scher), video, 2:00.
