Tacoma Art Museum Docents Blog TAM Docents Blog: FW: Talking Points - Neddy 2008

Please read the following “talking points” about Doug Jeck’s male nude figure in the Neddy.

Visitor Services will be advising families and others about the nudity.

Talking Points

Doug Jeck’s Cain and Abel

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Doug Jeck’s ceramic sculptures are based on the heroic Greek and Roman male nude figure, but with an updated look and tone.

Jeck maintains that the heroic ideal is lost in contemporary times, and his sculptures convey that loss.

His figures frequently are formed in somewhat vulnerable, awkward stances that may be strangely disorienting or disturbing to the viewer.

The potentially provocative part of the piece is nudity, which is, of course, common in art across generations.

Visitors with children may appreciate being told that there is male nudity in this exhibition.

Those employees in charge of school tours and summer camps should be mindful of this work in the gallery as well.

As we move into July and the Saint John’s Bible exhibition, it’s reasonable to think that we may have more visitors who may be more sensitive to this piece.

If we encounter a high volume of visitor complaints, we may consider including a warning about nudity on the gallery map. (Please let the communications department know about visitor response to this piece and any ideas you have that might. We will also be watching responses in the visitor surveys.)

Heide Fernandez-Llamazares

Museum Educator and Docent Coordinator

TACOMA ART MUSEUM

1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, Washington 98402

T: 253.272.4258 x3018

F: 253.627.1898