Tourists (1988)

'Tourists' is probably Hanson's most famous works and is really indicative of his ability to create extremely realistic sculptures. Again we see an engagement with obesity as part of American (and indeed the World's) culture and society. 

 Tourists is less overtly critical of obesity than 'Supermarket Shopper' but we are still made to engage with our own perceptions of obesity. With 'Tourists', Hanson isn't forcing us to either celebrate or be repulsed by obesity but instead appreciate the people behind the weight and understand that our initial reactions aren't necessarily true. Obesity is dangerous to an individuals health but it shouldn't control our opinions on a person. We must ask ourselves about the people we love and if they have weight issues? Obesity is unfortunately a major problem and as a result has become a key aspect of modern culture. Hanson wants us to delve deeper into both his work and the aspects of life his work represents. This is what makes him a truly great artist instead of just a great craftsman.

Bowery Derelicts (1969)

What we get most from Hanson's work is the allowance to stand and stare and therefore really take in the image on display. Within Bowery Derelicts Hanson has created a startling and wholly realistic depiction of homelessness and the affects of alcoholism. 

Hanson's striking realism allows us to view these figures at their lowest ebb, something that general courtesy doesn't within the 'real' world. Hanson is inviting us to really engage with the suffering of the figures, and, instead of walking by, like we would on the street, we are made to fully emphasise with the plight of the homeless and re-think our own interpretations of these people, their reasons, and their daily existence.

Supermarket Shopper (1970)

Supermarket Shopper is a rather grotesque look at the modern American relationship with food. Much of Hanson's sculptures deal with obesity but in a less critical way. Hanson himself felt that the scultpure was too critical in it's depiction of an obese woman, piling up her trolley with unhealthy, processed food. We judge the figure for her over-eating yet deciphering the products within her trolley we see correlations between our eating habits and those of the figure. For example Coca-Cola is the largest drinks company in the world, we all have at least once drank a can of Coca-Cola. This gives an affinity to the sculpture in that we judge her for her obesity, yet, we ourselves are guilty of giving into similar temptations.

Queenie II (1988)

Queenie II was one of Hanson's favourite sculptures and one of the only pieces he named. Queenie II is one of my favourites too because it celebrates so perfectly the forgotten everyday worker. Hanson believed that we tend to forget that, outside of our own homes, someone needs to clean up after us. Hanson is giving us a chance to really identify the lower-class worker who does look tired, and maybe over-weight but does a hard job for very little and we need to remember the importance of Queenie and the job that she does.

Race Riot (1968)

Race Riot came at a time where Hanson's work concerned itself primarily with a strong moral and social conscience. The image above is the original and completed Race Riot, which due to fire has all but been lost. What still exists is sculpture to the left, known, and exhibited now as Policeman and Rioter.

Although an incredibly striking sculpture that brings to light the issues of police brutality and racism, Policeman and Rioter loses the initial impact and context of Race Riot. In Policeman and Rioter we see a young African American lying, defenseless on the ground whilst a helmeted police officer kicks him and prepares to hit him with a baton like weapon.

The attire of the African American man can be seen to refer back to the image of slavery creating an image of both modern and historical African American oppression.

If we look at Race Riot again, we see an image with a similar, yet differing attitude to that of Policeman and Rioter. The most striking difference is that the violence is two sided within Race Riot. We see two African American figures brandishing weapons including a machete (another reference to agricultural slavery?). The image we are given then is an image of war, as opposed to solely an image of African American opression and we ask ourselves who's the real winner when a fight for freedom becomes a bloody battle?

Duane Hanson

Duane Hanson (1925-1996)

The first artist I will be discussing is Duane Hanson. Hanson is currently the subject of the dissertation I am writing, and so he's the perfect artist for me to begin my blog.

In my humble opinion, Hanson is one of the great American artists of the late-20th century, but also one of the most neglected and underrated. His work consists mainly of hyper-realist sculptures made of autobody filler, polychromed in oil and made to look as life like as possible. Hanson used the people around him to create full-body casts that he would dress and paint in incredible detail as to form a sculpture as true to life as humanly possible. Time and time again audiences have mistaken Hanson's sculptures for reality, even going as far as to ask them questions. To see this as a gimmick or a hook is to do Hanson a dis-service though because his work is not only beautifully crafted, but also an accurate and sometimes shocking image of American society.