In 1975, Gordon Matta-Clark and his team penetrated into a hangar on a quay in New York (Pier 52). Without authorisation, the artist was to spend two months cutting shapes into the building’s structure, while toying with a precarious balance, making cuts within the very inner part of the framework. This film documents this undertaking, which resulted in an impressive work and Matta-Clark’s indictment for trespassing and degrading public property. He fled to Europe while he waited for the legal proceedings to settle down.

The first sequence shows him balancing on a rope, with a system of pulleys to reach the top of the building. He is cutting through metal sheet with a blowtorch. As in Splitting, the film showcases the play of light with the exterior, created by the cuts. At the moment the metal sheet falls, the shot is completely illuminated for several seconds due to the brightness of the sun. Each image emphasises the lights, whether it be the flame of the blowtorch, the reflections on the water or even the shadows on the building’s immense wooden framework. The floor having been partially cut with a chainsaw, the water of the river is visible inside, creating a play of reflections that disrupts the perception of the space by breaking the interior/exterior separation. This work has been likened to a cathedral, and the film attests to this incredible light that floods the building and creates images on the walls, just like a stained-glass window.

Patricia Maincent
Translated by Anna Knight