--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artist Matthew Barney has made a film…" description: "\"“Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for decades.”\" — Dean Cavanagh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png" --- # Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is… ![“Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for decades.” quote by Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png) > ““Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for decades.”” [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The comment critiques the pretentiousness of high‑art cinema by pointing out that its shock value is not novel, as mainstream media has long exploited similar vulgar themes. **In simple terms:** Art can be gimmicky when it recycles cheap shock. Key Takeaway Originality matters more than shock. Themes art criticism cultural satire originality media hypocrisy Mood ironic skeptical critical Type observation critique When to use this quote - film festival programming - art school debates - media analysis articles Key Concepts high‑art cinema shock value Hollywood conventions Practical Applications - critical essays - lecture content Questions to Reflect On - Does shock alone constitute artistic merit? - How does context affect perceived originality? A Different Perspective Some argue that avant‑garde works deliberately subvert norms, making shock a purposeful tool rather than a lazy shortcut. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [St matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/st-matthew/) ## Related quotes > [“One thing you'll learn when you're in the business of selling utter shite to the Great British Public is that there's really no bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-niven/one-thing-you-ll-learn-when-you-re-in-the-business-of-selling-utter/) [John Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-niven/) > [Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-the-baptist/repent-for-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-near/) [John the Baptist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-the-baptist/) > [Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American newspaper is like trying to play Bach's St Matthew Passion on a ukulele: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bagdikian/trying-to-be-a-first-rate-reporter-on-the-average-american-newspaper/) [Ben Bagdikian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bagdikian/) > [For us to think we can enjoy, understand and practice the Christian religion with just Matthew to Revelation is foolishness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/for-us-to-think-we-can-enjoy-understand-and-practice-the-christian/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) > [The fundamental basis of this Nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/the-fundamental-basis-of-this-nation-s-law-was-given-to-moses-on-the/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Prepare ye the way of the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/prepare-ye-the-way-of-the-lord/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [“Dearest Matthew, We buried your father today. Do you know what his last words were to me? “Damn stubborn woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/dearest-matthew-we-buried-your-father-today-do-you-know-what-his-last/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [In Rome, I loved seeing the Caravaggios. There are churches in Rome that have Caravaggios, and there's one, not far from Piazza Navona, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/in-rome-i-loved-seeing-the-caravaggios-there-are-churches-in-rome/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [ It is far better to be happy than to have your bodies act as graveyards for animals. Accordingly, the apostle \[St.\] Matthew partook of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/it-is-far-better-to-be-happy-than-to-have-your-bodies-act-as/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [Thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from their sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/thou-shalt-call-his-name-jesus-he-shall-save-his-people-from-their/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Man shall not live by bread alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/man-shall-not-live-by-bread-alone/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [“The triad, being the fundamental principle of the whole Kabalah, or Sacred Tradition of our fathers, was necessarily the fundamental dogma of Christianity, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/the-triad-being-the-fundamental-principle-of-the-whole-kabalah-or/) [Éliphas Lévi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/go-therefore-and-make-disciples-of-all-the-nations/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“The measuring stick of success in Hollywood is covered in shit at both ends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-measuring-stick-of-success-in-hollywood-is-covered-in-shit-at/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [Your Just like a toilet, fat round and full of shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-just-like-a-toilet-fat-round-and-full-of-shit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Dean Cavanagh > [“Would a DNA test for love take a sample from the heart or the mind?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/would-a-dna-test-for-love-take-a-sample-from-the-heart-or-the-mind/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The Path Of Least Resistance Is Littered With The Corpses Of The Bored To Death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-path-of-least-resistance-is-littered-with-the-corpses-of-the/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [You can never read too much into anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/you-can-never-read-too-much-into-anything/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [You can't live in the digital and die in the analog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/you-can-t-live-in-the-digital-and-die-in-the-analog/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“Time to pull the plug on the coma of the left, right paradigm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/time-to-pull-the-plug-on-the-coma-of-the-left-right-paradigm/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The ultimate goal of the political elite is to privatize the air. So as not to destroy their own edifice of democratic compassion they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-political-elite-is-to-privatize-the-air-so/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [The ego camouflages itself like a fox born and raised in a hen house. Its only worry is that you fail to notice its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-ego-camouflages-itself-like-a-fox-born-and-raised-in-a-hen-house/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [We don't fall in love, we fall in lust. We ascend to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/we-don-t-fall-in-love-we-fall-in-lust-we-ascend-to-love/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“Death Laughs In The Faces Of Clocks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/death-laughs-in-the-faces-of-clocks/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“Keeping your mouth shut whilst eating shit will get you far in life but your soul will die of starvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/keeping-your-mouth-shut-whilst-eating-shit-will-get-you-far-in-life/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The future promises us all our very own Truman Shows and when every man and woman is a star the spectacle becomes auto- cannibalizing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-future-promises-us-all-our-very-own-truman-shows-and-when-every/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [The quantum death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. 24 hours before he was "officially" declared dead it was announced on the internet that he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-quantum-death-of-philip-seymour-hoffman-24-hours-before-he-was/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The Devil fights from behind barricades of linguistic complexity, but the war of words will be won by those armed only with simplistic truths”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-devil-fights-from-behind-barricades-of-linguistic-complexity-but/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [When inspiration comes life is lived in the moment and peace descends. When inspiration leaves thoughts turn to violently killing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/when-inspiration-comes-life-is-lived-in-the-moment-and-peace-descends/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) [Explore all 132 Dean Cavanagh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for decades.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dean Cavanagh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-about-shit-it-is-hardly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-about-shit-it-is-hardly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/dean-cavanagh-3359_art_artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-ab_2981.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for…” — Dean Cavanagh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dean Cavanagh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Artist Matthew Barney has made a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-about-shit-it-is-hardly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-about-shit-it-is-hardly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```