Discrepancy of scale: Ron Mueck
Recently while on holidays in Melbourne, I went to see an exhibition in The National Gallery of Victoria by hyperrealist sculptor Ron Mueck. Having heard about his lifelike but not life-size human sculptures, I was very excited to enter into his world. I was keen to see the way Mueck plays with scale and creates human sculptures presented at all stages of life.
As I entered the room, I encountered the first sculpture of the exhibition “Dead Dad”; a representation of Mueck’s dead father, naked, lying on the floor, only three feet long. The hyper-realism of the model was so striking that I could feel the fragility and the morbid temperature of the body. The fact that he was naked and exposed to the fully-clothed onlookers made him look extremely vulnerable, and I felt a slight discomfort looking at him.
As I continued my journey throughout the exhibition, i found that each sculpture had it’s own story to tell. Mueck’s depiction of different emotional states, such as isolation, fear and tenderness, made me feel like I was observing the human condition through a magnifying glass. I felt trapped in an enclosed space surrounded by emotions.
However the most powerful story was represented by the “Wild Man”, a nine-foot sculpture of a bearded man clutching stiffly the stool he was seated on. Despite the monstrous size of the man, he seemed so vulnerable and the fear and anxiety emanated from his eyes. It felt like as if he was terrified of us – the audience. I could strongly empathise with the feeling of intimidation that was brought to life so vividly by the sculpture.
Every sculpture looked so realistic that it was hard to resist the temptation of touching them. However as I got close and reached out my hand, security approached me immediately, and so my desire was left unfulfilled! I still wonder if they feel as real as they look.
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Lovely post, Julia! I can’t stand looking at these photos, so I can only imagine how you felt being there amongst them!
Elin
February 24, 2010
at 3:51 pm
Great post Julia. I was there wandering around the exhibition with you and i think you capture the feeling of of it very poignantly and accurately.
Kieran Kelly
February 24, 2010
at 3:56 pm
Really interesting post, Julia, I would love to have seen the exhibition. I just did a little research on Mueck — apparently most of his work is silicone? Like you I totally would have wanted to touch it… shame the security guard busted you!
It would be cool to have more posts along these lines, I think you’ve got a feel for narrating your experience of art (and lord knows that’s not easy).
Sara Williams
February 24, 2010
at 4:07 pm
Thanks guys!
Sara: yes, a lot of his work is done in silicone but also in fibreglass and resin. He also used his own hair for the ‘Dead Dad’ sculpture!!!
Julia Wojcicka
February 24, 2010
at 4:39 pm
Mueck has an exhibition at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh last year. It was awesome. I had the opportunity to see “Wild Man” myself, really great. He also had a newborn baby laying on its side that was about ten feet long. Parts were covered in varnish, so it looked wet and glistening, really powerful stuff.
Jon Dascola
February 24, 2010
at 4:59 pm
I really loved this post. You have a haunting sense of prose Julia. I think you might be an Emo after reading this… and yet…
Tim Malbon
February 25, 2010
at 1:40 am
Finally got to read this Julia. Loved it. Felt like I was there with you in the gallery. Very atmospheric :)
Justin McMurray
March 4, 2010
at 9:41 am