NGV KIDSPoINtS for DIScuSSIoN for chIlDreN wIth aN aDult IN the roN MuecK exhIbItIoN.

Recommended foR childRen 6+ yeaRs

roN MuecK22 JaNuary – 18 aPrIl 2010NGV INterNatIoNal

Please be advised that this exhibition contains material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Ron Mueck makes sculptures that show people in different stages of life: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age.Find a sculpture that matches each stage of life. Do you know people from different stages of life? Are any of them special to you?

Body Language is a way we communicate. The way we sit, stand, or even the way we move our hands and the expression on our face is all part of our body language. It can tell others how we are feeling. Look for a sculpture with body language that tells us how the person is feeling.

Concentrating, serious, frightened, curious, relaxed. Can you think of more words to describe Ron Mueck’s people?

Some of these people appear to be in their own world. They do not seem to be aware of us looking at them. Do you ever go into your own world? Others seem to know we are looking at them. Which ones are they?

Cover image: Two women 2005 (detail)National Gallery of Victoria, MelbournePurchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2007 © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London

A girl 2006 (detail)Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, EdinburghPurchased with assistance from The Art Fund, 2007© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, LondonPhoto: Antonia Reeve

Drift 2009Anthony d’Offay, London© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, LondonPhoto : John Spiller

Woman with sticks 2008(detail)Private collection© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, LondonPhoto: Mike Bruce

Sometimes Ron Mueck’s sculptures start us thinking about a story or situation. Where might the man in the boat be going? What could the two women be talking about? If you could talk to these people, what question would you ask them?

Ron Mueck changes the scale of things. He sometimes makes life-size figures larger-than-life or smaller-than-life. Compare the size of your foot with a big sculpture’s foot. Imagine if you were tiny and everything else was gigantic. Why do you think he makes some of his sculptures so big?

WhAt DO yOu thInk?

Why do these sculptures look so much like real people?

What emotions do you think some people might feel when they see the different sculptures?

Why do you think he chooses to show some people naked?

the word hyper can mean bold, intense, sharp. What does it mean when Ron Mueck’s art is described as hyperreal?

Old woman in bed 2002 Art Gallery of New South Wales, SydneyPurchased, 2003© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, LondonPhoto: Jenni Carter

Man in a boat 2002 (detail)Private collection© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London

Mask II 2002 (detail)Private collection© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London

At hOMe► Stand in front of a mirror, make faces and change the way you hold your body to make body language.

► Show someone else and see if they can guess what you are saying with your body.

► Draw a picture of someone special to you.

► Imagine you are a giant. Draw what it would be like walking down the street.

► Model a face, mask or person in play dough or clay.

DRAW ABOut ROn MueCk

ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvkids

WORDs ABOut ROn MueCk Words to find:

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