The Uncanniness of Art –
Like Life - Sculpture, Color and the Body (1300-Now) at the MET Breuer
espite living day by day as mortal forms of flesh, meat, and blood, it is quite easy to forget who, or, better yet, "what" we are. Though one normally goes through life watching, thinking about, and being human, the literal biology, make-up, and physical form of ourselves are often lost through thoughts both in and about what is beyond our skin and bone. In most cases, it may take what is inanimate to remind us what it means to literally live and be. The MET Breuer’s current three-dimensional based exhibit Like Life: Sculpture, Color and the Body (1300-Now) gather works from various times, mediums, and artists to hold up this artifice tinted mirror to humanity ultimately
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By Jason Conrad Llaguno, 4/22/2018
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allowing man to bridge gaps of gender, age, and experience. This exhibit works as an uncanny portrait of humanity, subsequently reminding one of their connection with all people, past, present, and future. Because of its division into eight distinct themes, the audience is beckoned to explore “…issues of race, gender and identity” and its role in our contemporary world. New York Times journalist Roberta Smith discusses this as well as the “…imminent threat, or promise, of robots and replicants” in her report on the exhibit. Despite her great acclaim of the two-story display, she critiques Life Like as an “…outstanding theme show that could have been excellent with a less tight adherence to theme, a little less ‘Sensation.’” In response to Roberta, I offer my dissenting opinion in that the curator’s decision to organize the show into various
themes in fact strengthens the exhibit as a whole and allows for better understanding and perspective of each individual sculpture. Though each piece can undoubtedly traverse the borders of theme and juggle many interpretations both conceptually and aesthetically, the choices made in each pieces’ placement enables the viewer to fully experience each work both on its own and as a whole.
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One may argue that in categorizing a sculpture in a single theme, only one aspect of the piece is highlighted where in reality, the sculpture addresses numerous emotions, messages, and forms. This is very true for those sculptures throughout the museum, yet for such a robust exhibit such as Like Life, each sculpture is made easily digestible in the eyes of the average viewer. There are around 120 sculpture and pieces taking up two different floors, meaning that it is almost impossible to truly comprehend the full breath and detail of each piece in one sitting. In allotting each sculpture to take a place a
group of similarly themed sculpture, it is made much easier to compare and contrast this three-dimensional art form with others of its kind but from different generations. Though each piece holds enough significance to stand alone in viewership and critique, placing select works together better adjusts the audience to drawing connections between one piece to another and ultimately to themselves. In the opening of the exhibit, after being greeted by Duane Hanson’s hyper-realistic “Housepainter II” (1984), one is immediately introduced to the theme of color and its effects on replicating the human form. Through the pairing of sculptures from a timeline ranging from the goldrush to the modern-age, a greater message is expressed that a singular sculpture may lack. The lack of color that many dated sculptures may hold is juxtaposed with contemporary pieces that persist to lack color critiquing old-fashioned perceptions of color and its role in modern-day expression.
