Supermarket Lady

Duane Hanson expresses in his sculpture of the Supermarket Lady, that he thinks the consumer society is going in the wrong direction, people over-do their shopping, they buy great amount of food; -and next week probably the same amount. The consumer society has it's own routine; people consume more and more, and end up with obesity related deceases.

The Picture is of an overweight woman from the 70's, she has taken the American slogan: "bigger is better" very seriously. The woman has curlers in her hair, which tells us that she does her shopping in the morning before she dresses up. She walks with a shopping cart, filled with food, and other necessary groceries. There are no vegetables among the food in the cart; most of the food is food on can, or snacks, for instance chocolate chip cookies. The food in the cart is in general very unhealthy, which explains why she is overweight. I can tell from the look on the woman's face, that she is tired and exhausted from doing her shopping. She has a cigarette in her mouth while doing her shopping, which only gives us more of a reason to believe that she has a very unhealthy lifestyle. The cart has a particularly round shape, because it is totally full. It matches the woman who has round shapes, and colorful clothes. She is wearing a yellow necklace which I think indicates jealousy; I think she feels jealousy towards thin people. The necklace's lines have the same direction as her arms. The lines go both horizontally and vertically, that gives us the point of view on the woman. The woman indicates the theme in the picture. The theme is over consumption. Americans consume too much food, which is a huge problem, because it often results in obesity related deceases such heart attack and type 2 diabetes. The painter made this picture to make people think about how the consumer society works. People buy too much food, they eat too much, and they gain weight. Something has to be done about it, because too many people die from obesity related deceases. This picture is just an example on the usual routine in America; it is sad, but very true. The painter is trying to direct this massage to the American people. The routine has to change, but the picture is from the 70's, and I am afraid that many Americans still have the same routine.