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Between Tool and Partner: A Study on the Role of Mannequins in Art

  • The Journal of Aesthetics and Science of Art
  • Abbr : JASA
  • 2023, 68(), pp.6-31
  • DOI : 10.17527/JASA.68.0.01
  • Publisher : 한국미학예술학회
  • Research Area : Arts and Kinesiology > Other Arts and Kinesiology
  • Received : December 15, 2022
  • Accepted : January 12, 2023
  • Published : February 28, 2023

HAN EUI JUNG 1

1충북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Most of the mannequins in works of art have conveyed messages of violation against social norms, dealt with taboo territory, and have been the object of disgust. Freud makes it clear that a mannequin belongs to the “uncanny,” and “ought to have remained hidden and secret, and yet comes to light.” Based on the common nature of mannequins and art, imitation and simulacra, this study asks what role mannequins play in artistic creation, and traces the fascination and disgust that mannequins evoke. Since the Renaissance, mannequins have functioned as tools in the artist’s studio, but they have not been seen in paintings depicting artists’ studios. This was because the mannequins reminded people of the mechanical properties of painting and the image of the artist as a worker. With Parisian street culture in the 19th century, mannequins were used by surrealist artists as tools to criticize product fetishism, and as materials to reveal a disturbing eroticism. The mannequins in contemporary artworks reveal the animality and cruelty inherent in humans, and are often combined with other species to become objects of disgust. The mannequins that arouse such disgust can be said to serve as actors of creation beyond simple tools or materials in the art creation process. In this case, a mannequin is not a model resembling a human being, but rather an object with mechanical properties and materiality that allows the artist to freely transform, combine, and dispose of its bodies, and can be said to be the artist’s “intimate partner.”

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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