The Stags by Patricia Piccinini - 2008 - 69 3/4 x 72 x 40 1/4 National Museum of Women in the Arts The Stags by Patricia Piccinini - 2008 - 69 3/4 x 72 x 40 1/4 National Museum of Women in the Arts

The Stags

Fiberglass, automotive paint, leather, steel, plastic, and rubber • 69 3/4 x 72 x 40 1/4
  • Patricia Piccinini - 1965 Patricia Piccinini 2008

It's Sunday so it's time for our monthly special feature—this time of the collection of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It means we will be presenting contemporary art created by women artists. We hope you will like it!

“The world I create exists somewhere between the one we know and one that is almost upon us.” Contemporary artist Patricia Piccinini’s witty sculpture The Stags (2008) presents two mutated motor scooters as living creatures, sparring like male deer in the wild. Working with automotive engineers and spray painters, Piccinini creates works that urge us to contemplate how the built and natural worlds cooperate and clash.

The deeper-colored scooter, with its handlebars in a downturned position, evinces a more docile disposition, while the forward-pointing handles and larger array of mirrors on the golden-hued bike suggest an aggressive stance. The scooters’ lifelike interaction contrasts with their sleek forms built from high-tech fiberglass and cast steel.