Reality Check
Journal activity
Review and discuss Duane Hanson’s Woman and Dog if your students saw it at the Museum.
What was students’ initial response to Duane Hanson’s work? Why?
What did students think about when looking at his figures?
Have students think of a person in their family or close friend. What everyday moment would they choose to focus on to represent that person?
Why this particular moment?
What setting would they be in?
How would they pose?
What would they wear?
What accessories would they include?
How about pets?
What everyday moment might capture something important about that person’s identity?
As a journal activity, ask students to describe that everyday moment and setting, and what it might reveal about that person’s identity.
If students were to choose a significant moment in their own lives to depict, what would they focus on and why?
Duane Hanson, Woman with Dog, 1977. Synthetic polymer and oil on cast polyvinyl with clothing, hair, eyeglasses, watch, shoes, upholstered wood chair, ceramic dog with collar, woven rug, postcard, letters, and envelopes, 46 1/8 × 50 1/2 × 48 in. (117.2 × 128.3 × 121.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from Frances and Sydney Lewis 78.6a-f © Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY