Postmodernism: Duane Hanson

Queenie II (1988)

Tourtist II (1988)

Duane Hanson’s Tourist II (1988) is a postmodern work that underscores the current paradigm change. The sculpture, like many of his works, is a model of hyper-realistic tourists. By placing the sculpture in the gallery intermingled with the real tourists, Hanson called into question what is real. Unlike mannequins in the mall, Hanson’s work was right there, equal to you. The work was in some ways even more “real” than the people viewing it, with a sense of authenticity more characteristic to the time when they were created. These days, it seems odd to see people dressed in such a tacky way (at least as it is now considered), but at the time, not everyone understood how conspicuous it was to look this way as an American. This tackiness is for the work's benefit, having those who see it question what is and is not real. It also calls out how conspicuous Americans are when they travel abroad, poking fun at American’s wealth and their consumerist enthusiasm. Hanson wants Americans who see these works to question themselves and if that really is how they look when they travel. Hanson has his work act almost like a distorted reflection back at the viewer.

Reality and how to portray it with a “true” means are focuses of the renaissance. Renaissance artists appreciate an artist’s ability to recreate a space and the use of masterful techniques to convey exactly what they see, as if through a window. Real people are often the focus of the works, instead of religious figures. Reality, to the renaissance mind, is something that could be quantified and defined, and we humans could determine the truth of everything. The recent shift has been a rejection of this idea, questioning what is real, pulling some ideas from the Medieval period, such as chaos and the apocalypse. The questioning of the renaissance mindset and what is real and true is the center of this movement. Many art forms have sprung from this idea, as each art form tries to question renaissance ideas in a different manner. These art forms include the art form called trompe l’oeil, which Hanson uses when making his statues.

Hanson’s work could be seen as the epitome of renaissance ideas, as it uses the artist's ability to its fullest in creating a hyper-realistic interpretation of the human form. His work also focuses on the common man and not important religious people. Unlike renaissance paintings or sculptures, his works could truly be 3 dimensional and in full color, almost like a perfection of renaissance art ideals. Like renaissance artists who first began to work with new materials, like oil paints, Hanson was also working with new material, fiberglass and polyester resin. Hanson’s work fits into a category called trompe l’oeil. Trompe l’oeil uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion, a type of “forced perspective” that relies heavily on perspective techniques created by renaissance artists. Trompe l’oeil is typically done in paintings, but Hanson made this work as a sculpture. From this, it might seem like this is not a shift in a paradigm at all, but rather a strengthening of it. However, this is not the case due to how Hanson displays his art. His art is not displayed as art, hanging on a wall or standing on a pedestal, but rather in the middle of the museum floor, interacting with the museum goers and attempting to be real. This interaction relates to some art previously made, where the perspective of the art was meant to be seen from a certain angle or in a specific room with certain tiles and lighting, but the fact that Hanson has this fake entity attempt to be real differentiates his work from renaissance artists. His work tries to make the viewers question reality and what is real, looking for other works that could be hidden and questioning whether any other museum goers, security guards, or cleaning staff is real, or just another work of art. The illusion works as a reflection of American life, having this work act almost like a heterotopia of the American tourist, mirroring yet upsetting the idea of what an American is. This trompe l’oeil thus works as a questioning of what is real by creating this illusion that seems to be more real than reality itself. By making his work hyper-realistic, it could be said that this is the perfect renaissance work, yet Hanson does not use this work as a window looking at reality, but as a way to question what is real and to reflect on American culture.