MILWAUKEE — He's known across the world. His art is in dozens upon dozens of private collections and museums. Yet, in Milwaukee, he is seemingly just another guy you pass in the grocery store.
"It always seems that the hometown kid - I have more popularity in every other place in the world, it seems."
That doesn't bother him, though. That man is artist Marc Sijan. He is one of the best hyper-realism sculptors in the world. His Bay View studio is filled with tons of life-like sculptures, half-finished sculptures, face masks, and more.
“I think it’s probably the oldest subject matter known to mankind. Everybody’s always interpreted the human anatomy. The caveman, the Romans, the Greeks, the modern-day man," Sijan said.
Hyper-realistic sculptures are Sijan's interpretation of the human body. He turns real-life people into sculptures or finds inspiration from the world around him. Each sculpture is so real that all they're missing is a pulse.
Obviously, from afar, these sculptures look real. However, when you take a closer look, you find the beauty is in the fine details. Sijan possesses a unique ability to show how the skin ages, emotion in the eyes, the spectrum of colors on our bodies, the slight rise of our veins, the dirt on our fingernails, and the size of our arms and legs. Sijan captures a lifetime of experiences in a single sculpture.
“I go with my wife somewhere, and I’m always thinking and I’m always looking at people. Sometimes I see somebody walking down the street, and I want to capture that image in my mind or with a photo," Sijan said.
While Sijan might not be a household name in Milwaukee. There is one sculpture of his in the city that has garnered a lot of attention. It's the guard standing in a corner of the Baird Center. If you've been to the convention center, you've likely done a double or triple take to see if he is real or not.
Watch the video below to see more of Marc Sijan's work...
Sijan loves that his art makes people stop and think. It's the specific medium that lends itself to such dramatic effects.
“The dimensional quality. The tactile quality.”
Each statue takes about four to six months to create. They weigh about 50 pounds. They’re all hand-painted and have medical-grade prosthetics. He uses dental equipment for all the fine details like wrinkles and fingerprints.
Sijan honed his craft while pursuing an arts degree from UW-Milwaukee in 1971. Fast forward 50 years, and now his statues are in private collections and museums across the globe. And where you see his statues, people are looking at his work—seemingly waiting for the statue to blink, breathe, or move.
“What motivates me? To outdo myself. To outdo something I’ve done before, all of them I’ve done before. To make the next one unique and have its own message." Sijan said.
It’s all about the message. Each statue tells a story. Sometimes it can be obvious. Other times, it takes a deeper look. He’s constantly looking for another story to tell. It’s the never-ending pursuit of the next great piece that fuels artists like Marc Sijan.
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