MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition
2016
MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition

Silver gelatin prints, vinyl, clay, valchromat, dimensions variable. Image credit: Swiss Institute (New York)

MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition

Detail, King John of Serbia, depicted on horseback with raised sword and impaled panther, 2008, clay, valchromat, courtesy the artist. Image credit: Swiss Institute (New York)

Incorporating the manifold quasi-objectThe Maltese Falcon (Warner Brothers, 1941), set reference photograph courtesy the USC Warner Brothers Archive; the seductive hypothesis – Laura (20th Century Fox, 1944), production stills courtesy the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the negative poleKiss Me Deadly (United Artists, 1955) production still courtesy the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ United Artists Collection; the revelation of historyCat People (RKO, 1942) production still courtesy the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ RKO Stills Collection; structural definition (practical socialism)You and Me (1938, Paramount Pictures), vinyl, courtesy the artist, and King John of Serbia, depicted on horseback with raised sword and impaled panther, 2008, courtesy the artist. Exhibited in ‘FADE IN: INT. ART GALLERY – DAY’ Swiss Institute, New York.