THE ART OF REPRODUCTION
Pregnant Woman Ed Hughes, MBChB, MSc, FRCSC, Roger Pierson, MS, PhD, FEAS, FCAHS
R
on Mueck’s sculptures are always pensive and usually a little unnerving. He produces hyper-real figures, in monumental or smaller-than-life scale, that draw the viewer in with silent questions. The high realism of his subjects makes them seem alive—warm to the touch—but overriding that visceral trickery is an element of quirky mystery. What is the subject doing/thinking/feeling? Check out his works entitled Woman with Sticks, Woman With Shopping, Woman and Baby, and Big Baby to see what we mean.1
REFERENCES
This month’s piece, Pregnant Woman, is powerful and grand. At 2.5 metres tall, the heavily pregnant young woman stands in solid balance with the earth, her arms raised, perhaps to ease her tired back. With eyes closed, she seems to be communing with her unborn child, oblivious to the curious viewer. Her profound nudity and powerful stance amplify the energy of pregnancy that she seems to radiate—a feeling that contrasts strongly with Klimt’s pregnant woman in the painting Hope, previously featured in this series.2 She seemed much more vulnerable, standing as she did, in the shadow of death.
J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2014;36(4):368
Mueck started out as a modeller in the film industry and continues to use fibreglass and silicon to generate textures and details that trick the viewer’s eye and heart. For this piece, he worked with a pregnant model, beginning in her sixth month, through to delivery. You can learn more about his process from a video available on line.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Pregnant Woman is now housed at the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra. Ron Mueck. Pregnant Woman 2002. Fibreglass, resin, silicone; 252 × 78 × 72 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased with the assistance of Tony and Carol Berg 2003. © Ron Mueck The image of this work is used here thanks to the gracious help of Mr Nick Nicholson of the National Gallery of Australia, Mr Anthony d'Offay, and Hauser & Wirth.
368 l APRIL JOGC AVRIL 2014
1. Fondation Cartier [website]. Available at: http://fondation.cartier.com. Accessed February 18, 2014. 2. Pierson R, Hughes E. A new year—an old hope. J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2014;36(1):96. 3. Ron Mueck. The most realistic sculptures, part II. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTy5cORM3CI. Accessed February 18, 2014.
Pregnant Woman Ed Hughes, MBChB, MSc, FRCSC, Roger Pierson, MS, PhD, FEAS, FCAHS
R
on Mueck’s sculptures are always pensive and usually a little unnerving. He produces hyper-real figures, in monumental or smaller-than-life scale, that draw the viewer in with silent questions. The high realism of his subjects makes them seem alive—warm to the touch—but overriding that visceral trickery is an element of quirky mystery. What is the subject doing/thinking/feeling? Check out his works entitled Woman with Sticks, Woman With Shopping, Woman and Baby, and Big Baby to see what we mean.1
REFERENCES
This month’s piece, Pregnant Woman, is powerful and grand. At 2.5 metres tall, the heavily pregnant young woman stands in solid balance with the earth, her arms raised, perhaps to ease her tired back. With eyes closed, she seems to be communing with her unborn child, oblivious to the curious viewer. Her profound nudity and powerful stance amplify the energy of pregnancy that she seems to radiate—a feeling that contrasts strongly with Klimt’s pregnant woman in the painting Hope, previously featured in this series.2 She seemed much more vulnerable, standing as she did, in the shadow of death.
J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2014;36(4):368
Mueck started out as a modeller in the film industry and continues to use fibreglass and silicon to generate textures and details that trick the viewer’s eye and heart. For this piece, he worked with a pregnant model, beginning in her sixth month, through to delivery. You can learn more about his process from a video available on line.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Pregnant Woman is now housed at the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra. Ron Mueck. Pregnant Woman 2002. Fibreglass, resin, silicone; 252 × 78 × 72 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased with the assistance of Tony and Carol Berg 2003. © Ron Mueck The image of this work is used here thanks to the gracious help of Mr Nick Nicholson of the National Gallery of Australia, Mr Anthony d'Offay, and Hauser & Wirth.
368 l APRIL JOGC AVRIL 2014
1. Fondation Cartier [website]. Available at: http://fondation.cartier.com. Accessed February 18, 2014. 2. Pierson R, Hughes E. A new year—an old hope. J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2014;36(1):96. 3. Ron Mueck. The most realistic sculptures, part II. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTy5cORM3CI. Accessed February 18, 2014.
