OK guys, I hate to drag this one out of the basement, but I just have to share this. I had the opportunity to see Mueck's work in person this weekend and it is simply OUTSTANDING! This guy is possibly one of the most tallented artists who's work I've had the distinct pleasure of seeing. I have to admit, the rest of the museum with Warhol, Stella and Picasso paled in compairison (I know, I love all those great modern artists as well, but it just seemed to pale in comparison after seeing this work). The Modern in Ft. Worth had several galleries dedicated to his work as well as the "pregnant woman" video showing at the end. What stunners some of these pieces are. The way they aranged the pieces in the large galleries really lended to the emphasis of each piece. They all had plenty of room and in some cases, so much room it lent a spooky isolation to some (there was a newborn baby, about 1/2 scale isolated on one enormous wall all by itself. It was almost scary to see that little piece of innosense isolated on that vast wall. It just sucked you right in.) You absolutely have to see this artists work in person if you get the opportunity. Absolutely worth it. The attention to detail, even in the grand scales he achieves is stunning. Goose bumps, hair folicles, the slightest perfectly placed wrinkles, perfectly sculpted and perfectly painted......I could go on. Mueck has to be appreciated for several things that his work belies as well. There was a small section devoted to his sketches, studies and preliminary sculps. This guy defies artistic tallent. Sculpting, painting, concept, illustration, engineering, mold making, WOW! All I can say is go see it! It's well worth the fee of admission. As you can maybe tell, I was blown away!
I would love to post the hundreds of pictures I took of this exhibit here on the Planet, but sadly they are all in my minds eye. They would not allow ANY photography in the display! (I can understand flash being prohibited, but I sure wish I could have snapped a few without the flash!)
Now, how does this apply here.......other than being outstanding art, sculpture and painting, I started to notice many things about his work that I employ when painting figure. In particular, he employs gloss and matt finishes to an outstanding degree. There was a newborn baby, probably 20 feet long, and she had smudges of blood perfectly smeered on her in gloss red, in contrast to her largely matt skin. The large mask of an African-American woman employed our "overhead" lighting painting technique to perfection. Even in the huge scale she represented on the wall. The beauty of these pieces is that they were equaly as fascinating from 30 feet as they were from 1 foot! From afar they held a fascinating erie presence. From 1 or 2 feet, they revealed perfectly placed individual hairs, moles, blemishes, and subtle variations of tone and lighting. I digress, I'll stop blathering there and let you decide for yourselves.
http://www.mamfw.org/onview.html
Jay H.
OKC
