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Article: Art: Still Lives.(Duane Hanson's life-like human figures on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- February 8, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Stand still even for an instant at the Whitney's Duane Hanson show and you're apt to become the object of impertinent inspection. Its 24 life- size human figures are so precisely rendered, down to the smallest follicle and pore, that visitors to the show can't always tell the quick from the dead.
It is fascinating, nevertheless, to watch the interaction of the twain. For some viewers, these sculptures have the simple, eerie fascination of wax figures at Mme Tussaud's. But because those depict celebrities while these depict the man and woman in the street, certain critics and many viewers have chosen to see them as savage commentaries on the working classes, as ...