Paul McCarthy’s green inflatable butt plug—or “Tree”, as the artist calls it—so offended right-wing Parisians in 2014 that a group of vandals deflated the 80-foot-tall work soon after it was installed in the Place Vendôme. Later, a man even attacked McCarthy himself. At the time, McCarthy told Agence France-Presse, “I don’t want to be mixed up in this type of controversy and physical violence, or even to keep taking the risks associated with this work.” But the Los Angeles-based provocateur has found what promises to be a more congenial setting for the work: the old Hollywood western set Paramount Ranch. McCarthy is erecting Tree in the replica film town, situated in the Santa Monica Mountains, as part of the third edition of the Paramount Ranch art fair, 30-31 January. The work is set to be the event’s “number one highlight”, according to fair co-founder Pentti Monkkonen. Hopefully the new placement won’t lead to any high noon shootouts.
