Statuens indre liv. En tolkning av Juan Muñoz' kunst

Abstract

From the mid-1980's until his untimely death in 2001, the Spanish-born artist
Juan Muñoz gained international acclaim for his sculptures, installations and
multimedia projects. This article discusses and interprets some of his figurative
sculptural works, using concepts such as simulacrum, alienation, allegory, the
statue as an autonomous entity, and Walter Benjamin's notion of aura. Muñoz's
sculptures strongly invite us into illusionary settings and situations while at the
same time leaving us on the outside, as strangers in awkward situations. The
theatrical, or performative, character of his larger installations, or tableaux
vivants, such as Many Times (1999), questions not only our social and
environmental relations, but also our individuality, as if we are confronting
mirrors that uncover our vulnerable subjectivity in highly disturbing ways.