Ron Mueck
Encyclopedia
Early work
Ron Mueck began his career working on the Australian children's television program Shirl's NeighbourhoodShirl's Neighbourhood
Shirl's Neighbourhood was an Australian afternoon children's television series aired on the Seven Network between 1979 and 1983. The half-hour show featured former Skyhooks frontman Graeme "Shirley" Strachan and co-host Liz Rule alongside a cast of characters including Norm The Kangaroo, Ol'...
. He was the creative director and made, voiced and operated the puppets Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Ol' Possum, Stanley the snake and Claude the Crow amongst many others. The show was made for Channel 7 Melbourne between 1979 and 1984, broadcast nationally and starred the ex-lead singer of Skyhooks
Skyhooks
Skyhooks were an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in March 1973 by mainstays Greg Macainsh on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Imants "Freddie" Strauks on drums. They were soon joined by Bob "Bongo" Starkie on guitar and backing vocals, and Red Symons on guitar, vocals and keyboards;...
, Graeme "Shirley" Strachan.
Mueck's early career was as a model maker and puppeteer for children's television and films, notably the film Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
for which he also contributed the voice of Ludo, and the Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
series The Storyteller
The Storyteller
The StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
.
Mueck moved on to establish his own company in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, making photo-realistic props and animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
for the advertising industry. Although highly detailed, these props were usually designed to be photographed from one specific angle hiding the mess of construction seen from the other side. Mueck increasingly wanted to produce realistic sculptures which looked perfect from all angles.
Sculptor
In 1996 Mueck transitioned to fine art, collaborating with his mother-in-law, Paula RegoPaula Rego
Paula Rego is a painter born in Portugal although she is a naturalised British citizen.-Biography:Rego was born in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the daughter of an electrical engineer who worked for the Marconi Company. Although this gave her a comfortable middle class home, the family was...
, to produce small figures as part of a tableau she was showing at the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
. Rego introduced him to Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi is the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and led that business - the world's largest advertising agency in the 1980s - until they were forced out in 1995. In the same year the Saatchi brothers formed a new agency called M&C...
who was immediately impressed and started to collect and commission work. This led to the piece which made Mueck's name, Dead Dad, being included in the Sensation
Sensation exhibition
Sensation was an exhibition of the collection of contemporary art owned by Charles Saatchi, including many works by Young British Artists, which first took place 18 September – 28 December 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London and later toured to Berlin and New York...
show at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
the following year. Dead Dad is a silicone and mixed media sculpture of the corpse of Mueck's father reduced to about two thirds of its natural scale. It is the only work of Mueck's that uses his own hair for the finished product.
Mueck's sculptures faithfully reproduce the minute detail of the human body, but play with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. His five metre high sculpture Boy 1999 was a feature in the Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
and later exhibited in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
.
In 1999 Mueck was appointed as Associate Artist at the National Gallery, London. During this two-year post he created the works Mother and Child, Pregnant Woman, Man in a Boat, and Swaddled Baby.
In 2002 his sculpture Pregnant Woman was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
for A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
800,000.
Exhibitions
Ron Mueck's first exhibition in Japan opened on 26 April 2009 at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, KanazawaKanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's...
. It ran until 8 August and featured a collection of works displayed over six spaces in the gallery. Among them were Mueck's latest work, "A Girl". The exhibition also included two short films about the artist, covering both his artistic background and his production techniques.
An exhibition was held at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, USA, from 12 December 2007 through 30 March 2008. "Ron Mueck at The Andy Warhol Museum" featured seven of the artist’s realistic human sculptures, including: In Bed; A Girl; Wild Man; Spooning Couple; Man in a Boat; Mask II; and Mask III.
A major exhibition of his work was shown as part of the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
at the Royal Scottish Academy Building
Royal Scottish Academy Building
The Royal Scottish Academy Building, situated in the centre of Edinburgh, was designed by William Henry Playfair during the 19th century. Along with the adjacent National Gallery of Scotland, their neo-classical design helped transform Edinburgh in to a modern day Athens of the North.The building...
until 1 October 2006. A solo exhibition of nine works by Ron Mueck was presented at the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
from 3 November 2006 through 4 February 2007.
An exhibit of his work was also on view at the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
, in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
from 2 March to 6 May 2007, organized by the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain
Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain
The Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, often known simply as the Fondation Cartier, is a contemporary art museum located at 261 boulevard Raspail in the 14th arrondissement of the French capital, Paris...
(Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada, the Brooklyn Museum and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was first granted a Charter from the State of Texas in 1892 as the "Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery", evolving through several name changes and different facilities in Fort Worth...
, Texas, showed an exhibition of thirteen of Mueck's pieces from 24 June 2007, through 21 October 2007. The works in the show include Untitled (Seated Woman) (1999), Dead Dad (1996–97), In Bed (2005), Untitled (Big Man) (2000), Two Women (2005), Crouching Boy in Mirror (1999–2000), Spooning Couple (2005), Mask II (2001–2002), Mask III (2005), Wild Man (2005), and A Girl (2006).
A major retrospective of Mueck's work was held in his home town of Melbourne, Australia, in April 2010, at the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
.
The Christchurch Art Gallery is hosting a touring version of the National Gallery of Victoria's exhibition 2 October 2010 to 23 January 2011.
The antique College of San Ildefonso Mexico 2011
Chronological list of works
- Big Baby (1996), silicone, polyurethane, wood, synthetic hair. 85-cm-high model of baby with oversize eyes. (Private collection).
- Mongrel (1996), polyester resin, fiberglass, synthetic fur. Life-sized mongrel dog.(Collection of Sheilagh Tennant, Edinburgh).
- Pinocchio (1996), mixed media - standing boy, perhaps 5 years of age, wearing only underpants. (John and Amy Phelan Collection, New York).
- Dead Dad (1996–97), silicone, acrylic paint and human hair - a 2/3-life-sized sculpture of Mueck's father lying on his back, naked. (Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago).
- Angel (1997), mixed media - a 1/3-scale boy seated on a tall stool, in a brooding pose looking down, sprouting wings made of real goose feathers. (Hoffman Collection, Dallas)
- Big Baby II (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, synthetic hair. 85 cm-high model of baby. (Caldic Collectie, Rotterdam).
- Big Baby III (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, synthetic hair, cotton. 85 cm-high model of baby. (Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago).
- Man in a Sheet (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, polyurethane, aluminum wire, synthetic hair, cotton. Man wrapped in a sheet, bending forward to gaze at floor. (Olbricht Collection, Germany).
- Mask (Self Portrait)(1997) - eight-foot reproduction of Mueck's own face, frowning. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill. Residing in the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. - Ghost (1998), mixed media - 2 metres tall (3/2 scale?) adolescent girl, in swimming costume, leaning against a wall, face averted. (Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
) - Man under Cardigan (1998), silicone, polyurethane, polyester resin, aluminum wire, wool. Naked man, sitting on floor, a woollen cardigan held over his head as if to shelter from rain. (Vicki and Kent Logan Collection).
- Shaved Head (1998), mixed media. Naked man, squatting, arms stretched out, head turned downwards. (Hoffman Collection, Berlin).
- Boy (2000), fibreglass, resin, silicone - a 5-metre-tall sculpture of a boy, crouching. First shown in the UK Millennium DomeMillennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
exhibition. It is now owned by the art museum ARoS in the city of AarhusAarhusAarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Denmark, who use it as a trademark piece. - Seated Woman (1999), mixed media - 1/2 scale clothed, seated, elderly woman, hands clasped, eyes almost closed - (Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthModern Art Museum of Fort WorthThe Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was first granted a Charter from the State of Texas in 1892 as the "Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery", evolving through several name changes and different facilities in Fort Worth...
). - Crouching Boy in Mirror (1999–2002), mixed media. Figure similar to the Millennium Boy, above, but on a much smaller scale, examining his reflection in a mirror. (The Broad art Foundation, Santa Monica).
- Baby (2000), mixed media - tiny naked newborn baby boy, arms akimbo.(Keith and Kathy Sachs).
- Untitled (Big Man) (2000) - a nearly seven-foot sculpture of a naked, completely hairless, belligerent-looking man sitting with his knees drawn up and his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hand. The work is designed to sit in a corner. Owned by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenThe Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
in Washington, D.C., it has become one of the museum's most popular works since its acquisition. - Man in Blankets (2000), mixed media - 1/2 scale - elderly naked man almost completely enveloped in blankets, which form a kind of cocoon. (Hoffman Collection, Dallas). Artist's proof is owned by Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
- Old Woman in Bed (2000), mixed media - 1/2 scale - very elderly or dying woman lying in bed, draped in blankets, asleep. (Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
). - Standing Man (2000), mixed media. Middle-aged or elderly man dressed in gown and duffle coat. (Private collection, Milan).
- Mask II (2001-2), mixed media. Huge head (the face appears to be Mueck's own), lying on its side as if asleep - private collection.
- Mother and Child (2002), fibreglass, resin, silicone - 1/2 scale naked woman who has just given birth, the baby laid on her stomach with umbilical cord still attached and trailing to the woman's womb. (Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Munich).
- Man in a Boat (2002), mixed media - 1/3 scale naked man seated toward the prow of a 4-metre-long rowing boat. (Private collection).
- Pregnant Woman (2002), fibreglass, resin, silicone - 2.5-metres tall sculpture of a naked pregnant woman clasping her hands above her head. (National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
). - Swaddled Baby (2002), mixed media - life-sized new-born baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, head on a pillow.
- Head of a Baby (2003), mixed media. Huge head of a baby. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa).
- Baby on a Chair (2004), mixed media. Baby wrapped in blanket, placed on a wooden chair. (Collection Glenn Fuhrmann, New York).
- In Bed (2005). Huge (3 x scale?) woman lying in bed, hand raised to her face in a contemplative pose. (Queensland Gallery of Modern ArtQueensland Gallery of Modern ArtThe Queensland Gallery of Modern Art is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre at the South Bank area of South Brisbane. It holds most of Queensland Art Gallery's contemporary works, while also being the joint host to the current Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art...
). - Mask III (2005), mixed media. Huge (1.5 metre tall) face of a black woman. (Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
). - Spooning Couple (2005), mixed media. 1/2 scale of partially clothed middle-aged man and woman lying in 'spooning' position as if in bed - artist's collection.
- Two Women (2005), mixed media. Two diminutive, clothed, elderly women, standing as though gossiping. (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia).
- Wild Man (2005), mixed media. A nine-foot sculpture of a naked, bearded, fearful man clutching the stool he is seated on. (McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia).
- A Girl (2006), mixed media. Newborn baby, with part of umbilical cord and some blood. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa).
- Standing Woman (2007), mixed media. Huge (4-meter high) middle-aged woman, dressed in black. (Towada Arts Center, Towada City, Japan).
- Woman with Sticks (2008), mixed media. 180 cm-high model of naked woman, bent backwards, carrying huge bundle of sticks. (Private collection).
- Drift (2009), mixed media. 2/3-scale man floating on his back on inflatable raft, wearing sunglasses and swimming trunks. (Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
). - Still Life (2009), mixed media. Slaughtered and plucked chicken, same size as a human being, hung from hook by its feet. (Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
). - Youth (2009), mixed media. Diminutive figure (65 cm high) of African or African-American youth, holding up his T-shirt to examine a wound in his belly. (Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
).
See also
- Duane HansonDuane HansonDuane Hanson was an American artist based in South Florida but born in Minnesota, a sculptor known for his lifecast realistic works of people, cast in various materials, including polyester resin, fibreglass, Bondo and bronze...
- George SegalGeorge Segal (artist)George Segal was an American painter and sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement. He was presented with a National Medal of Arts in 1999.-Works:...
- John De Andrea
- Patricia PiccininiPatricia PiccininiPatricia Piccinini is an Australian artist and hyperrealist sculptor. Her art work came to prominence in Australia in the late 1990s. In 2003 she was selected as the artist to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale....
(similar artist) - Roman sculptureRoman sculptureThe study of ancient Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the Apollo Belvedere and Barberini Faun, are known only from Roman Imperial or Hellenistic "copies." At one time, this imitation was taken by art...
(historical connection)
External links
- Muecks' studio and work in progress
- Sculpture Magazine article
- 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Japan
- Ron Mueck at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (Paris)
- Ron Mueck Muppet Wiki
- Examples of work at the James Cohan Gallery
- Pregnant Woman at the National Gallery of Australia
- Washington Post gallery
- At the National Gallery of Scotland, 2006
- Article on Ron Mueck in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Solo Exhibition at the Brooklyn MuseumBrooklyn MuseumThe Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
- Details of the exhibition run by English Heritage at Belsay Hall, Northumberland
- Ukiran Hidup Ron Mueck