The sculpture “Young Shopper” by Duane Hanson, created in 1973, is a remarkable example of the Hyper-Realism and Photorealism art movements. As a genre, it falls under sculpture, and the artwork showcases impressive attention to detail, capturing a lifelike representation of a person.
The sculpture depicts a woman seemingly in middle age, standing with a somewhat tired or resigned expression. She’s weighed down by multiple shopping bags, suggesting she’s been on a long shopping trip. The realism is elevated by the use of everyday apparel: she wears a cardigan over a red blouse, a printed knee-length skirt, and comfortable sandals with socks.
Her attire, complete with a practical handbag and simple jewelry, including a bracelet and a ring, reflects an ordinary person’s outfit rather than a stylized or idealized figure. The attention to detail is meticulous—from the texture and fall of her clothes, the strands of her hair, to the expressions on her face.
This sculpture is characteristically Hanson, portraying an everyday, unglamorous subject with extraordinary realism, compelling viewers to pause and reflect on the ordinariness and humanity of the figure before them. It is this quality that aligns “Young Shopper” with the broader goals of Hyper-Realism and Photorealism: to create artworks that are so true to life that they force observers to look at the commonplace with new eyes.