Kate Adams Cadi 2012

Week 4 - Humanism and contemporary sculpture.

 Ron Mueck's sculpture and Humanism

Mask II (2002) Ron Mueck

A girl (2006) Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck has become internationally recognised for his unique sculptures, which replicate the human figure with unrivalled technical skill. His work has a powerful psychological range, focusing not only on universal experiences like birth, life and death but on emotional states such as isolation, fear and tenderness. His startling manipulations of scale are key to our experience of each work.

Mueck's work showed at the Christchurch Art Gallery from the end of 2010 through to January 2011. Research Mueck's sculpture in order to answer the following questions;

1. Mueck's sculpture is described as 'hyper-real'. Define the meaning of this term and explain how it is evident in his work.

The meaning of hyper real is that the lines between fiction and reality are blurred and that something is very very realistic. This is shown in Mueck's work by the way he makes his work very realistic but at the same time people are able to look at it and tell that in fact it is not real. Mueck's  sculptures are created totally accurate to a real person to the point that they become hyper-real.

2. Mueck says he is not interested in making life size sculpture. Find out why he is more interested in working with the scale of the figure which is not life size, and mention 2 works which use scale that is either larger or smaller than life.

Mueck makes work either larger or smaller because as he says in an interview with Sarah Tanguy who is a writer and independent curator based in Washington, DC about the untitled sculpture also known as 'Big Man' "I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting. We meet life-size people every day." The sculpture Pregnant Woman, standing at 252 cm high creates much more of an impact than if she was life size. She is standing naked and with her arms in the air, she is creating attention and giving a shock to the viewer.

  Untitled (Big Man)     Pregnant Woman

3. Define Renaissance Humanism , and identify which aspects of Humanism can be seen in Mueck's work. Note that the contemporary definition of Humanism is much broader than the Renaissance definition.

Renaissance humanism is the study and philosophy of improving man kind. Renaissance humanism is where non religious humanism ideas grew and became more popular away from the church where people were able to have their own thoughts and beliefs.

Mueck's work relates to humanism because he is showing people as they are, with out any clothes, religion or other distractions. He is showing a thoughtful, intelligent work.  

4. Research and discuss one of Mueck's sculptures that you might find challenging or exciting to experience in an art gallery. Describe the work, upload an image of the work, and explain your personal response to the work.

Mask II. I chose this work because while it still frightens me a little I feel like I would actually be able to appreciate the huge amount of detail and realisim in the artwork. I would like to see actually how detailed and accurate the sculpture is. I like the fact is is not so much a human but only a part of one and could represent many other things too by calling it a mask.

 Comment on other student blogs to develop the discussion around the variety of our own personal and individual responses to art and design.

Reference websites and books used at the end of your blog.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/816457/ron_mueck_australian_hyperrealist_sculptor/

christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/ron-mueck/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hyperreality.htm

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hyperreal

http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag03/jul_aug03/mueck/mueck.shtml

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/humanism.html

Week 1- Mercantilism and Fiona Hall's work

'Tender' (2003-05) Fiona Hall

Fiona Hall's contemporary work reflects ideas that come from the Renaissance concept of Mercantilism.

Research the two examples; 'Tender'(2003-05) and 'Leaf Litter'(1999-2003) to explain how they relate to this concept.

1. First define mercantilism, using material from your ALVC handbook, and explain how it has developed since the Renaissance.
Mercantilism is a system based on an entire city or nation gaining economic power. This is done by creating banks, getting gold and other valuable items to bring back to the city or nation and to then sell to make the city or nation appear wealthy and important.Since the Renaissance a new economic system has been put into place, Capitalism. Capitalism changed the way in which art was made. Art was made for its price tag rather than for religious purposes. Art was brought and sold to gain wealth and display the regions importance. Governments now controlled the markets as they would raise taxes all to control and maximise economic growth.


2. Identify the ideas or concepts in Hall's work that relate to Mercantilism?
Fiona Hall's work relates to mercantilism as she uses the bank notes of capitalist countries as the backgrounds. While in the foreground she uses an image of the main export of the country, this is showing the monetary value behind everything in a sense.
Hall often uses money to make art, her birds nests are made out of thousands of dollars worth of American dollar notes, all shredded up into the shape of birds nests. This shows the parallels between nature and the commercial, capitalist world.

3. For each work describe the shape, form and materials used, and also explain the ideas behind each example.
In Leaf Litter Hall has used forigin money to create a background to paint over. Hall has painted a plant over the top. This shows that while money is often the underlying reason to make/do things plants are often the resources traded and sold to make money.
Tender is made from real shredded american dollars, woven into 86 different birds nests. Hall is expolring the complex relations between the natural world and human trade.

4. In your opinion do the materials communicate the ideas of the work? Please explain your answer.
In my opinion they do, both artworks show relationships between the natural wold and the capitalist ways people view the world. They show what mankind sees as the most important and what mankind also uses to get what it wants.

5. Fiona Hall's recent project The Kermadecs focuses on issues around the Pacific ocean. Research this project to summarize the importance of the area and upload an image to your blog for discussion.
The importance of The Kermadecs is the fact it has so many endangered and endemic species, it is the only place in the world capable of housing such animals. It is a one of a kind place that could never be replaced. hall has painted about  both its historic value and the value it still holds to mankind and science.

 ' Leaf Litter' (1999-2003) Fiona Hall

These works were part of an art show titled 'Force Field' which can be viewed in one of the exhibition spaces on Youtube - Part Three: Fiona Hall: Force Field.

www.abc.net.au/rn/legacy/programs/sunmorn/stories/s1451093.htm
australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/fiona-hall
www.qag.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/.../Fiona_Hall_EdKit.pdf 
www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/fionahall/  

http://www.thekermadecs.org/

http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/17/Fiona_Hall/profile/

http://www.thekermadecs.org/fiona-hall

http://www.wmt.org.nz/PDF/CGW%20Press%20Release_Fiona%20Hall2_3%20April%2008.pdf