Hirshhorn Museum

On a trip to Washington DC, I think it must have been October 2009, I am walking along downtown streets when an unexpected heavy rain shower suggests better popping inside for shelter. That ‘inside’ turns out to be the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, part of the Smithsonian.

What I discover inside is Ron Mueck’s sculpture, I call it Big Man, created ten years earlier in 2000. It is a more than 2 meters tall, hyperrealistic figure of an overweight man crouched in a corner.

A man made from polyester

The sculpture is made from pigmented polyester resin on fiberglass and is notable for its intense physical detail, including visible veins, blotchy skin, and a drooling, scowling expression, which contributes to its unsettling and powerful presence.

Mueck, an Australian-born artist who works in London, began the piece during his residency at the National Gallery, inspired by a life drawing class he attended.

Folklore has it, he initially hires the live model, described as a “smoothie” (a hairless man), to pose for him, but the session proves difficult and awkward, as the model can not achieve the desired pose. The classical poses he offers feel unnatural.

The final pose emerges spontaneously when the model sits in the corner, waiting, and Mueck finds the position compelling. The sculpture’s facial expression is also an accidental result, created when Mueck, frustrated, smacks the clay figure, squashing the brows into an angry look.

Apparently, Mueck deliberately avoids creating life-size figures, as he finds them uninteresting due to their familiarity; instead, he manipulates scale to heighten emotional and psychological impact, making the viewer feel a little unsettled and drawn in.

Unease

Striking is the depiction of the anatomy, illusionism, and color, contrasting blue eyes and veins with the yellow undertones of the hairless, pink skin.

The displayed art in the museum is, on the whole, somewhat beyond me. But this man: It evokes a sense of awe and unease.

Thanks for the rain.