ART | TALENT
ABOUT
Iconoclast, provocateur, court jester of the contemporary art world—these are just a few of the ways people have described Maurizio Cattelan, the Italian artist whose slippery and satirical works have entertained, challenged, and moved audiences for more than 35 years. Not one for explaining himself—so much so that from 1997 to 2006 he hired someone to perform him at public appearances that ranged from lectures at Yale to interviews on Vatican radio—in conversation, Cattelan’s aphoristic responses feel not unlike the pithy one-liners his work delivers.
“In theory,” he says, “anything can become art. In practice, not everything should—at least not immediately.” Few pieces illustrate this dynamic more clearly than Comedian (2019), a banana duct-taped to a wall, which sold for $6.2 million USD and was then promptly eaten. Cattelan uses humour to reflect on the art world, systems of power, and the transient nature of life. With these fields of interest in mind, we invited Max Siedentopf—an artist who plays with the absurd—to create a series of photographs to accompany this story. In them, Cattelan’s “death” arrives. It is mischief and mortality, side by side.
Talent: Maurizio Cattelan
Photographer and Creative Director: Max Siedentopf
Stylist: Francesca Cefis Casoli
Set Designer: Michela Croci
Makeup and Hair Artist: Sara Bergaglio using Mac Cosmetics
Photo Assistant: Henry Gorse
2nd Photo Assistant: Leonardo Vecci Innocenti
Digital Technician: Alessio Spanu
Styling Assistants: Tommaso Benedetti, Allison Papi
Set Design Assistants: Alfredo De Luca, Elisabetta Fefè
Production: Chillbill
Production Team: Maddalena Beretta, Francesca Graziano, Paolo Novarese, Giulio Fiorito, Carlotta Cannata, Alfonso Esposito
Stunt Team: Simone Belli, Antonio Palladino, Manuel Resta
Location: Residenza Location
With special thanks to Museo Internazionale delle Torture di Grazzano Visconti and Autodemolizioni Marazzi
