Friday, April 30, 2010
Undivided
Patricia Piccinini
Undivided
2004
Silicone, fibreglass, human hair, teddy, bed and linen
This piece was part of her show Natures little helpers designed as a concept that science could focus on genetically engineering helper creatures for endangered animals rather than setting aside national parks. Humans could actively do something. The growths coming out of the back of the helper creature in the bed are where the small, endangered animals can stay. They will be protected by a separate bodyguard helper creature; and bread by another. She has an entire world set up around her concept. The round cute ones like the one in Undivided, are surrogates. Clearly loving creatures. The way she sets up scenes showing how the creatures interact with small children tells so much about the creature’s dispositions. The young children are fragile and defenseless much like the endangered species, this makes it easier for humans to see how they would interact with another creatures young if they can relate it to their own. Even the kindest creatures in our imaginations are plump. If that which is beautiful, is good, how can thin be good if its not comforting in the middle of the night.
http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/natureslittlehelpers/shows/11Undivided/hires/20Undivided.jpg
Piccinini, Patricia. “Nature’s Little Helpers.” Patricia Piccinini . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
- - -. “Undivided.” Natures Little Helpers. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Fat Cars
Erwin Wurm
Fat Cars, Red Porsche
2001
“People in positions of power …have always taken themselves very seriously. Looking back at history you don’t know weather to laugh or to cry. And I really think its absolutely legitimate to regard those people with a jaundiced eye. You have to portray them with a cynical, mocking wit to reveal them as the ridiculous frauds and hypocrites they are.” Erwin Wurm (video, gadgetking.com)
The way I interpreted this for his Fat Cars pieces is that generally speaking the people who are in the sports cars these days are people that have power in some way shape or form. They also have money and they want to show this to everyone. This is Wurm’s way of proving they are “ridiculous frauds”.
What if you view the cars a person? All these cars are fleshy tones like human skin. You don’t want the car to get hurt, so it stays in the garage and doesn’t get out much but is still catered to right inside its home. If that were a person they would weigh 400lbs., so what if cars were the same way. Its counters our idea of what we think of as the stereotype for a nice car. Even objects are subject to the movement of embracing obesity.
http://icanhashappy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/red-car.jpg
Berimbauone. “Erwin Wurm - Fat Cars.” icanhashappy. Blogspot, 28 Jan. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
“Erwin Wurm.” galerie krinzinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
“Fat Cars By Erwin Wurm.” Gadgetking. N.p., 5 Jan. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Jeff Davies
Jerome Paul Witkin
Jeff Davies
1980
Oil on canvas
This painting is currently being displayed in the Palmer museum of art at Penn State.
Excerpt from the Artists Biography: A painter who conveys moral messages in his artwork, Jerome Witkin has "resuscitated narrative painting after the heyday of abstraction." He believes that moral values are as important as formal or aesthetic values ones and "has chosen to make work that deals with human drama." (askart.com)
Jeff Davies is clearly not a rich man, he’s not traditionally a handsome man either, but Witkin has no desire to paint him that way. It is a very honest painting of a well-feed, gruff, middle-aged man; he has a protruding stomach ,which is the first thing you notice, and he is dressed in sloppy clothes. He is the epitome of average, and thus, the ideal subject for a painting that represents humans and our issues.
“Collection Highlights.” Palmer Museum of Art. N.p., 14 May 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
“Jerome Paul Witkin.” Ask Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Untitled (Big Man)
Ron Mueck
Untitled (Big Man)
2000
Mixed media: silicone and Fiberglass resin
In contrast to most other artists Mueck had no formal education past high school. His parents were German toy makers and he learned to work with many different materials by simply experimenting with them. He is a self-made artist with an inherent talent for sculpting people. He started out making models and puppets for children’s shows, then moved onto animatronics. After some time he realized that “the presence” of his work was lost on film, and he moved to sculpture. His hyper realistic style is dramaticized by the scale he chooses to work in. “In works that are either monumental in scale or undersized, Mueck explores the human condition and psyche, often conveying feelings of loneliness, vulnerability and alienation.”(twistedsifter.com) This larger than life figure stands 8 ft tall, so viewers must look up to see his pout. This Figure in particular gave Mueck a lot of trouble. He hired a model to pose for him, but the model was to fat to make the pose, “His belly was in the way” stated Mueck. But because of this frustrating failure the insulted model went to sit in the corner while the artist tried to figure something out. What became of it was him having a rough model from him sitting on the floor. The rest was his imagination. In this way the mans obesity lead to an even further creation by the artist resulting in another work. There is a careful process to go through for each figure, a model is created, then a cast, then a mold, and finally, all the details are painted on at the end. This particular figure has no hair on him anywhere, so as to add to the uneasy feeling the viewer will get from him.
Mueck, Ron. “The Progress Big Man A Conversation with Ron Mueck.” Interview by Sarah Tanguy. International Sculpture Center. N.p., July-Aug. 2003. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Sifter, Twisted. “Hyperrealistic Sculptures by Ron Mueck.” TwistedSifter. N.p., 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Standing Man (Fat Man)
Marc Sijan
Standing Man
2000
Pigmented polyester resin on fiberglass,
81 x 46.25 x 82.25 in.
This is the classic example of glorifying something so common to make it more than it is. Sijan took a fat bald man with nothing especially unique about him, and turned him into a work of art. Hyper realism gives the artist the ability to make a very strong statement. The more real the viewer perceives it, the more they can connect with it. This Milwaukee artist has had many years of formal academic training. He got his graduate degree in art and later went back to school to study more about the human body taking classes like anatomy. This helped him to perfect his art, and perfect it he did. All of his human figures could easily be mistaken for a person. They don’t quite capture the drama of an art piece that would look out of place in a social environment. They are life like down to the pores.
From the artists biography: “Marc Sijan's Super realistic sculptures are ‘homages to humanity's fascination with its own forms -- a fascination which has compelled artists throughout the millennia to mirror life in virtually every medium.’ Sijan's figures are incredibly lifelike, sensuous and graceful. In fact, they are so lifelike, they seem always on the verge of movement, a mere instant away from action. The pores in the skin, the tiny hairs, and veins; even the bald spots, the blemishes, the individual shapes of the faces that make human beings so similar, yet so unique: These are the essence of what makes Marc Sijan's work so arresting.”(marcsijan.com)
Artists Statement: "I am seeking to freeze motion rather than suggest life," he notes. "The sculpture appears passive, but there is so much going on inside."
(Marc Sijan, marcsijan.com)
link to picture: http://www.marcsijan.com/pers/Sculptures/page/fat_man.htm
Sifter, Twisted. “Hyperrealistic Sculptures by Ron Mueck.” TwistedSifter. N.p., 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Sijian, Marc. “Biography.” Marc Sijian. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
- - -. “Marc Sijan Ultra Realistic Sculptures.” Smith Kramer. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
“Standing Man.” Marc Sijian. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Fat Giraffe
Thomas Mangold
Fat Giraffe
July 2005
LightWave 3D
Artists Statement: This is one of two shots I did for a Paris based advertising agency. Both images were used in a campaign for Zeiss binoculars and illustrate their quality to enlarge the stuff you see by using them. Lightwave has been my choice to create these models. While the giraffe has been finished pretty fast, the horse and jockey were pretty difficult to model and texture. Took me quite a long time, but in the end it's been worth it. Background for the giraffe has been shot by Ebo Fraterman, while I take all the credit for the horse image. Both images were included in the Shortlist at this year's advertising festival in Cannes.
It's not easy being green!(Thomas Mangold)
The reason the giraffe is so heavyset is to play up the fact that the binoculars “enlarge” everything. So as opposed to zooming in to show detail, he made a more creative and interesting ad by making it larger as in overweight. It was a great move for advertising because this is something that will actually catch a consumers eye He uses simple software to create these incredibly detailed images. He takes what use to be a classic and overseen image and shows that changing the subject of a painting, changes its meaning entirely.
Hellard, Paul. “ Artist Profile Thomas Mangold.” CGSociety. N.p., 2 Jan. 2006. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Mangold, Thomas. “Fat Giraffe, Thomas Mangold (3D).” CGSociety. N.p., 14 July 2005. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Curatorial Project
Curatorial statement
The theme for this exhibition is obesity. There seams to be such a concern in the media today about the issue of obesity in America today, yet there is also a growing problem with eating disorders. People are getting bigger and bigger being dragged in by the consumers market, and soaking it all up. Unfortunately they appear to be soaking it all up in their stomachs, thighs, torso, neck and even arms. They become so big that all they can do is eat up what is fed to them on TV. However, our models become inversely smaller and smaller. Even peoples feet; one of few noticeable body parts that doesn’t change much in size based on weight, has been targeted through new fancy sneakers to change your body. This exebition does not offer the traditional, ‘be who you are on the inside, weight doesn’t matter’ theme; instead I am embracing obesity as an important subject of art; one that, judging by trends, will only increase with America’s waste line.
The first piece done by Thomas Mangold is entitled Fat Giraffe. An overweight bulging giraffe in the center of the frame assaults what was originally a traditional safari photo of a giraffe. The artist was focusing on the quality of enlarging things by increasing their weight as opposed to increasing size to show detail.
Marc Sijan is an incredibly realistic sculptor, known for his incredible reproductions of life size people. People have reportedly walked up to his figures and attempted to have conversations with them. This character in particular is an older looking man with a large stomach and mid section, a balding head, and cellulite legs. He looks like he could be the copy of any regular guy walking down the street. In this way he glorifies this fat figure by calling it art.
In contrast to Sijan’s life size figures, Rom Mueck’s piece is larger than life. Entitled, Big Man, his sculpture is about 8 ft tall as the figure sits slouched over himself on the ground. This enormous scale magnifies every little thing about the Big Man, begging viewers to come closer. Mueck is also a hyperrealist artist so every flaw and blemish really shows on this figure. The bald obese naked man pouting in the corner is so pure and true to humanity in its strangeness.
Jerome Paul Witkin painted a burly man he calls Jeff Davis. His large protruding stomach from his jacket and the roundness of his figure are the first thing a viewer’s eye is drawn to. He is a common man, with no glorified scale or context, except for that of the exaggerated detail. Jeff Davies appears to have a spotlight shown on him and another illuminating him from behind. The highlights and the fact that he is lit from below add to his apparent size and toughness. None of this would have any effect if he were a thin man. The painting would not be controlled by his mass, but rather the volume of his jacket on a small man. No matter how rough the man looks, he is still a beautiful painting.
If we are discounting the beauty of the smooth thin elegance of modern models and turning out focus to the growing obese, why should we overlook the most classically elegant object of all; the sports car. Erwin Wurm has not. He made a series of Fat Cars, bulging, borderline disgusting, flesh tone cars that look like the artist injected one ton of lard in under the paint, giving the car cellulite. His original critique was to American consumerism, but you can’t ignore the destruction of something as beautiful as a Porsche and not be in awe somehow.
Of Corse if we are going so far as to have our cars and giraffes be overweight, why not the creatures of our imagination? Patricia Piccinini depicts a small child sleeping with a corpulent fleshy creature somewhere between a human and an armadillo. The creature’s skin is grotesque and it has small creatures being born from large bulging pores in its back, however, it is almost impossible not to find the creature cute as it holds the small child under its arm as they sleep. Its chubbiness becomes endearing and cute.
The exebition is designed to show the appeal of the obese art we find in the contemporary US