Duane Hanson, Supermarket Shopper. 1970.
Superrealist Duane Hanson uses polyester and fiberglass to create statues of people bearing such likeness to a real person it is uncanny. With the Supermarket Shopper, Hanson portrays a woman who has no regard for appearance as she is overweight, stretching her clothes, smoking and still in her curlers as she shops in public at the supermarket. Her shopping basket shows her disgusting overconsumption which Hanson felt was a deplorable trait. While fully clothed, we still can sense the unattractiveness of this body. As most artists are seeking the ideal attractive body, Hanson seeks the ideal unnatractive body. One female college senior exclaimed, "Wait, I saw her last week in the A&P!" The degree to which superrealists would go to make something look lifelike was unknown to art at the time, and Hanson not only makes you think the statue might be real, he made its context real enough that you take a second look to see if maybe you did see that lady at the supermarket before.
(text and picture stolen from http://www.ecit.emory.edu/ECIT/vc98projects/tim/artwork.htm )
See here for
Dino's art of the week choice, especially if this one is
getting outdated.
See here for past editions of my art of the week selection.