Week 4 - Humanism and contemporary sculpture.

 Ron Mueck's sculpture and Humanism

Mask II (2002) Ron Mueck

A girl (2006) Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck has become internationally recognised for his unique sculptures, which replicate the human figure with unrivalled technical skill. His work has a powerful psychological range, focusing not only on universal experiences like birth, life and death but on emotional states such as isolation, fear and tenderness. His startling manipulations of scale are key to our experience of each work.

Mueck's work showed at the Christchurch Art Gallery from the end of 2010 through to January 2011. Research Mueck's sculpture in order to answer the following questions;

1. Mueck's sculpture is described as 'hyper-real'. Define the meaning of this term and explain how it is evident in his work.

2. Mueck says he is not interested in making life size sculpture. Find out why he is more interested in working with the scale of the figure which is not life size, and mention 2 works which use scale that is either larger or smaller than life.

3. Define Renaissance Humanism , and identify which aspects of Humanism can be seen in Mueck's work. Note that the contemporary definition of Humanism is much broader than the Renaissance definition.

4. Research and discuss one of Mueck's sculptures that you might find challenging or exciting to experience in an art gallery. Describe the work, upload an image of the work, and explain your personal response to the work. Comment on other student blogs to develop the discussion around the variety of our own personal and individual responses to art and design.

Reference websites and books used at the end of your blog.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/816457/ron_mueck_australian_hyperrealist_sculptor/

christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/ron-mueck/

Damien Hirst's work 'For the Love of God' and Mercantilism

For the Love of God(2007) Damien Hirst

 

Research Damien Hirst's work For the Love of God (2007) in order to answer the following questions;

1. Describe the work, giving details of the form and materials.

2. What does the work mean? What is Damien Hirst communicating in the work?

3. How does Hirst's diamond encrusted skull relate to Mercantilism and to conspicuous consumption?

4. How much did the work cost, and how much was it sold for, and who bought it?

5. What are some of the differing opinions of the journalists in the newspaper and blog articles?
   What did they think of the work?

6. Based on your research, what is your opinion of the work, as an object or a work of art.

www.telegraph.co.uk › Culture › Culture News
www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/.../01/hirstsskullmakesdazzlingde
boingboing.net/2007/06/02/damien-hirsts-diamon.html 
www.gagosian.com/artists/damien-hirst/ 

Week 2- Complete the first blog and comment

Week 2 will be a catch up week to allow all students time to set up their blogs, answer the blog question and comment on other students blogs

Students from both group A and group B will answer the blog questions and comment on
other student blogs this week, to get practice doing both!

The week 3 blog will be posted at the end of week 2.

Week 3- Group B will answer all the blog questions and group A will comment on the blogs
of other students

If you sign up as a follower of the Cadi blog it makes your blog more accessible to other
students and you will be more likely to get comments. It is recommended that you do this.