Blue Woman In Black Chair Analysis

The contrast between George Segal’s “Blue Woman in Black Chair” and Tom Claassen’s “Untitled (Large Man) is evident as soon as you see both of them in the same room together. George Segal’s sculpture, which he made in 1981, depicts an older, blue colored woman sitting in a chair and staring at the floor. The sculpture Tom Clause made in 1999 appears to be a large, inflated man sitting with his back against the wall and looking down at his lap. Both sculptures are humanoid, but they are so uniquely stylized that they appear to be completely different creatures. Segal and Claassen chose to render the human form differently though format, texture, and color in order to create sculptures that portray melancholy introspection.
The first detail that I noticed was the difference in format of the two sculptures. “Woman in Black Chair” …show more content…
When I looked at the sculpture it seemed as though the dull gray reflected his inner state, one that I interpret as pensive and even downcast. His large and rather vague form and texture make him even more compelling. The shallow facial features appear to be configured in such a way to express some sort of sadness, but it is ultimately hard to tell. The man’s body language also seems to suggest dejection or unhappiness because he is slumped over and looking down. Even if it is hard to discern exactly what the sculpture was meant to portray, it still compels the viewer to empathize with the statue.
Both the sculptures “Blue Woman in Black Chair” and “Untitled (Large Man)” are examples of how artists can choose to portray the human body. They can use format, form, and color to render the human in the way they want, whether realistically or not. The comparison of these two pieces shows that regardless of if a sculpture is completely realistic, it is still possible to portray human emotions, like sadness, through these