Woman Eating, or, Too Close for Comfort

Duane Hanson. Woman Eating. 1971.

Regardless of how many Duane Hanson works I see, or text labels I read, I still feel uncomfortable getting too close. As I lean over to read the headline of this woman’s newspaper, my head knows her body is made of synthetics. My body, however, still gets slightly nervous; what if she turns to wipe the mayonnaise off of her mouth and sees me? How will I explain myself? For me, Hanson transforms Gaze into presence. I want to move as close to the Woman Eating as possible, however approaching her head on, as I would a painting or drawing, simply makes me anxious.