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DUANE HANSON (American, 1925 – 1996), Security Guard, 1990, autobody filler (fiberglass and polyester resin) polychromed in oil, mixed media, with accessories, 72 x 32 x 15 inches. Loan, courtesy of Mrs. Duane Hanson

Meet the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s newest world traveler: Security Guard.

 This lifelike sculpture that is normally installed next to the actual security guards’ office in the museum has traveled all the way to Baden-Baden, Germany.  He isn’t seeking to claim a new position at the Museum Frieder Burda but rather was loaned to be part of the exhibition Duane Hanson/Gregory Crewdson: Uncanny Realities. 

From November 27, 2010 to March 6, 2011, Security Guard will be part of a larger exhibition comprised of 25 Hanson sculptures and 20 Gregory Crewdson large-scale photographs that deal with “the human abyss.”

In conjunction with the stark, eerie photographs, the Hanson sculptures will create a dialogue about the American middle-to-lower classes and the “disappointments of the American dream that are buried within them.”  Hanson’s unique ability to capture every imperfection in the sculpture’s physiognomy adds to the feeling of verité, therefore prompting a feeling of empathy on the part of the viewer. 

Other sculptures that appeared in the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s exhibition, Duane Hanson: Sculpture and Photographs 1978 – 1995 are Children Playing Game, Housepainter, and Man on Mower.  

Germany isn’t the first place that Security Guard has traveled.  He’s been no slouch on the sightseeing front.  Prior to the Boca Raton Museum of Art's exhibition, he visited the Albright-Knox Gallery of Art in 2004 for Bodily Space: New Obsessions in Figurative Sculpture, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania from 2006 – 2007 for Duane Hanson: Real Life.

While Security Guard is in Germany enjoying the culinary delicacies and winter weather, the museum here in Boca will be filling our galleries with costumes from Cosprop, the London-based costumery for film, television, and theatre. CUT! Costume and the Cinema opens on January 18^th 2011.