No, the Other Barney

What one considers to be art is subjective. Great art, however, leans on this principle to the point of breaking it, becoming a subversive force that tears through quiet salons and galleries with its raw attitude and unprincipled demands. Matthew Barney has the soul of great revolutionaries such as Dali, Fellini, and even The Beatles, who's "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" caused riots and much exasperated head-scratching among the critical world. Barney rocked the film world with his hypermasculine Cremaster Cycles—named after the muscle in a man's body that thinks on its own in times of profound emotion. In his latest, Drawing Restraint 9, he teams with musical legend and wife Björk—Cannes Best Actress and wearer of swans—in an arthouse masterpiece of symbols, rhythms and jellylike substances that will make you sit up, taking notes, with your mouth gaping. You're transported into a Japanese Shinto class witnessing "The Way of the Gods" concerning nature and fertility via tea ceremonies…and some pretty macabre shamanistic rituals. Barney is not for the faint of heart, so when protagonists turn into whales on a whaling ship, expect some mutilation and, yeah, cannibalism. Drawing Restraint 9 is showing at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Friday through Sunday. Call 817-738-9215 or visit themodern.org.
Fri., June 30, 6 & 8:30 p.m.; Sat., July 1, 5 p.m.; Sun., July 2, 2 & 4:30 p.m.