Duane Hanson, The Shoppers, 1976

After beginning his career with highly charged sculptures addressing large social issues (namely the Vietnam war), Duane Hanson switched his approach to a more mundane and less obvious social critique.  He became involved in the Super Realist movement, taking on a style that allowed him to display an affecting reflection of what he was seeing in American culture.

Cast from live models, his highly realistic sculptures depict typically overweight people who appear particularly bored and disenchanted.  Often seen shopping, eating, lounging or working, the sculptures are both very humorous and startlingly disheartening.  In The Shoppers of 1976, we see particularly dazed looks on two gaudily dressed consumers.  It is evident that their material purchases are not bringing them a great deal of joy.

References:

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Volume Two (Second Edition). New York: Abrams, 1995.

Art:

Cast vinyl, polychromed in oil with accesories. Nerman Family Collection.