I've just discovered Ron Mueck.
He's a London based Australian artist, who started out as a model-maker and puppeteer for children's T.V shows in Australia. He also worked with Jim Henson.
His work has been labeled as Hyper-realism and I can see why, it's incredibly true to life down to each eyelash individually placed.
If you didn't have the viewers in the photos to give the true scale you'd think they were casts of real people, if not actual people!
I haven't seen one in the flesh so I don't know how they'd effect me emotionally but from the photos alone I am in awe of his skill and expertise.
There's a video of the making of the pregnant lady here
It's a bit long winded and the voice over is as annoying as the terrible background music, but, if you can bear with all that, it's quite interesting to see the process.
And below is even more of his work !
There are critics out there that think its not art just model making.
Jonathan Jones of the Guardian thinks "it's blank, empty and brainless" His entire article can be read here
Personally I don't agree with him, I think Mueck is an amazing artist who captures the emotional state of his subject with delicacy and honesty.
I'd love to know what you think though.
6 comments:
I went to an exhibition of his in London and was astounded by his skill at portraying the most incredible, intimate detail. I found it anything but blank and empty. It was disconcerting and unnverving, almost invasive, but certainly not brainless. I never pay too much attention to art critics anyway. Everyone's response is their own and that's what matters.
Thanks heartful, it's great to hear a reaction from somebody who has actually seen his work.
And you're so right, critics be damned , it's a personal experience at the end of the day.
Ha! I like the notion that it's not art. That's funny.
Sculpt a person's body and it's art. Paint a person's body and it's art. But don't dare paint the sculpture. That's just model making. How barbaric!
This is totally art. And a little creepy. But I like it.
nicely put aintshakespeare, that's it in a nutshell.
It's almost like saying Michelangelo was just a stone mason!
I think this man is unbelievable. These sculptures emote personality. I think he has his finger on the pulse of modern. I think it is art.
I saw the "Big Man" at Albright-Knox in Buffalo a few years ago. It was fascinating. There was real life created, particularly with the positioning of the eyes and the set of the mouth. Initially he looked really grumpy, "what the hell am I doing here, sitting in a corner with all these people looking at me?" But on longer inspection the expression seemed to change to a more bemused "Look at all these people looking at me sitting in a corner, trying to figure out what the hell I am doing here." Absolutely it's art.
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