Duane HansonFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaDuane Hanson (January 17, 1925 - January 6, 1996) was an American post-modern sculptor known for his life-sized
photorealistic works of humans, cast in various materials, including polyester
resin,
fiberglass, even Bondo® (an
automotive repair body filler). Later works, starting in the mid-1980s, were cast in bronze. Most of his sculptures are direct three-dimensional casts of his models, a technique known as lifecasting. The surface of the cast is carefully painted in skin tones; he adds clothing, jewelry, and other props, lending to a trompe l'oeil or almost hyper-realistic effect. His works were often politically challenging
Duane Hanson was born in
Alexandria,
Minnesota. He received his
Bachelor of Arts from
Macalester College in 1946 and his
MFA from the
Cranbrook Academy of Art in
Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan in 1951. From 1953 to 1960, Hanson taught art in
Munich and
Bremerhaven,
Germany. From 1962-1965 Hanson was a professor of art at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.
Another famous artist and favorite of mine is Edvard Kienholz;
Edward KienholzEdward Kienholz (October 23, 1927 - June 10, 1994) was an American
installation artist whose work was highly critical of several aspects of modern life. He often collaborated with his wife,
Nancy Reddin Kienholz from 1972 until his death. Collectively, they are referred to as "
Kienholz".
Early life and artistic developmentEdward Kienholz was born in
Fairfield,
Washington in 1927. He grew up on a farm in the eastern part of the state, learning carpentry and mechanical skills in his youth. He studied at
Eastern Washington College of Education and, briefly, at Whitworth College in Spokane, but did not receive any formal artistic training. After a series of odd jobs, such as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, the manager of a dance band, a dealer in secondary cars, a caterer, a decorator and a vacuum cleaner salesman, Kienholz settled in
Los Angeles, where he became involved with the arts.
Together with other
avant-garde artists in the area, he opened art galleries. In 1956 he founded the
NOW Gallery. In 1957 Kienholz started the Ferus Gallery with Walter Hopps. In 1961 he completed his first installation, "
Roxys", which caused a stir at the
documenta "
4" exhibition in
1968.
Despite his lack of formal artistic training, Keinholz began to employ his mechanical and carpentry skills in making collage paintings and reliefs assembled from materials salvaged from the alleys and sidewalks of the city. In 1960 he withdrew from the
Ferus Gallery to concentrate on his art, creating free-standing, large-scale environmental tableaux. Kienholz's assemblages of found objects -- the detritus of modern existence, often including figures cast from life -- are at times vulgar, brutal, and gruesome, confronting the viewer with questions about human existence and the inhumanity of twentieth-century society. Because of their satirical and antiestablishment tones, his works have often been linked to the funk art movement based in
San Francisco in the 1960s.
Collaboration with Nancy ReddinIn the early 1970s, Kienholz received a grant that permitted him to work in
Berlin with his wife and collaborator,
Nancy Reddin, whom he met in 1972 in Los Angeles. Their work has been widely acclaimed, particularly in Europe. His most important works during this period were the
Volksempfänger (
radio receiving apparatus from the National Socialist period in Germany). In 1973 he was guest artist of the
German Academic Exchange Service in Berlin, and in 1975 he received a
Guggenheim Award. In 1977 he opened "
The Faith and Charity" in Hope Gallery with Nancy Reddin. From the time of the exhibition Die Kienholz-Frauen at the Galerie Maeght in Zurich, 1981, his work was co-authorized with his wife. In 1973, Kienholz and Reddin moved from
Los Angeles to
Hope,
Idaho and for the next twenty years they divided their time between
Berlin and
Idaho. Kienholz died in Idaho in 1994.
www.beatmuseum.org/kienholz/edkienholz.htmlwww.x-traonline.org/vol8_3/willick.htm
Well, is the lady actual? Or is the lady a sculpture? An imitation of life?
