Paul McCarthy

Mickey Mouse

Digital pigment print in folder, with book Sheet size 61,00 × 51,00 cm Image size 55,40 x 45,10 cm Signed and numbered Edition of 50 + 20 AP


Paul McCarthy's art has always been provocative. His protagonists often spring from common clichés and myths. Yet it appears that McCarthy does not only aim for provocation and shock, but also for catharsis, which ultimately reveals the artist's moral intention.
Low Life Slow Life presents a diverse range of artists and artworks related to Paul McCarthy's memories of his own career. His selections are eclectic and unconventional, deriving more from his personal recollections than from any historical, objective measure of artistic influence. Packaged as a recreation of a vintage of Tide detergent, the book showcases a vast range of works that have influenced McCarthy’s career, presenting a personal map of his individual art history and philosophy.
 
For our Collector’s Edition Paul McCarthy has re-worked a photograph of an icon of American commercialism: Mickey Mouse waving happily in front of Cinderella’s castle at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. In his work, the man-size cartoon character, played by an actor in a costume, is shown in front of a deep black background — the artist has erased, blotted out, eradicated the plastic amusement park.