Real Inanimate

Tourists II, 1988
Duane Hanson
Autobody filler, fibreglass and mixed media, with accessories life size
Saatchi Gallery


To end the week with another foray into photo-realism we shift off the painted surface to the physical space of the gallery. Duane Hanson's hyper-realistic sculptures are practically indistinguishable from the real thing. With a focus on the typical every-day figure, the tourist, security guard, badly dressed person, Hanson creates exquisite incredibly life-like sculptures of middle-America.

Hanson casts from live models and recreates his sculptures in mixed media, often fiber glass resin (similar to Ron Mueck). I've seen many Hanson sculptures over the years, and am still occasionally duped (though briefly). The TMA has one of a forlorn, disheveled slouched man in a chair just to the side of the entrance of their contemporary galleries and while I am fully aware of it's existence as an inanimate sculpture, it still manages to command a presence. One which even as I intend to walk past it I am pulled to turn around to acknowledge as if he is a human sitting in the corner deserving recognition of existence.

"As amazing as they appear, there is much more to Hanson's sculpture than illusionistic wizardry. Hanson was a social realist, looking at a range of people in society and making observations about their condition in life. He recognized and admired ordinary people, like laborers and the elderly, who he believed had been marginalized by society. Through his art he sought to make the public aware of their presence and contributions to society." (Duane Hanson portraits from the Heartland -Mark M. Johnson)

Street View

Citarella Fish, 1991
Richard Estes b.1932
oil on canvas
31 x 71 in.

Considered one of the founders of Photorealism, which is well displayed in Citarella Fish. This painting's strength is on its thorough reproduction of detail. This may be turning into photorealism week! Photorealists tend to work from photographs, some free-hand from there others may plan out a painting or sculpture more specifically. I was blown away by the first Estes painting I saw. That first experience only left me with the amazement of the realistic detail. Further attention, and looking at more of his paintings offers up a lot more. Look through a catalog of his work and you'll see many common themes, the most specific being the focus on urban scenes (predominantly nyc). The scenes are not only urban but pedestrian, everyday. There are no events or special happenings in Estes paintings, yet they draw the viewer in. The angle and perspective of the piece of the scene he chooses to portray is very similar to a camera shot. He chooses in most cases (most particularly in those involving a store front) to split the image between a view onto the street and a view into a storefront. One's eye does not focus on only one view. I chose to include one of these scenes (His bridge paintings are awesome) in order to show the care he takes in representing the mirrored image in the glass. We not only see through the glass but also the reflection it creates. I chose this specific painting for the addition of the overhead lights you see through the glass as well. Layers upon layers in exquisite detail, a banal scene comes alive through its meticulous recreation in paint.

It took me ages to pick a painting for today (Yesterday's work by Max Ferguson brought Estes to mind) so I urge you to check out Estes's catalogue to see why. As you know, I am partial to images and art of NYC and don't wish to overuse them but I hope you find the structure, depth, richness and life in these paintings as appealing as I do.