U.S. healthcare debate inspires artist to create morbid sculpture

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Don’t fret: That’s not a real body lying on a hospital gurney in the photograph above. As you may have surmised by now, it’s actually a realistic sculpture that is intended to make a statement about our country’s debate on health care.

The artwork, titled ‘Pre-existing Conditions,’ is set to debut at the Art Basel fair in Miami this week. The life-size sculpture was created by Milwaukee’s Marc Sijan, who specializes in figurative and realistic art.

Sijan, 62, said a friend agreed to serve as a model for the polyester-resin piece, adding that his friend stands approximately 5 feet 10 and weighs about 300 pounds. The finished artwork was made through a combination of sculpting, modeling and casting, according to the artist.

‘I was considering placing an unpaid invoice in his hand,’ Sijan said in a phone interview. But he ultimately decided against it.

The artist described himself as a political moderate on the healthcare debate. ‘I’m independent on the whole thing,’ he said. ‘I’m not a Republican or a Democrat. By the time it’s all done, I just hope I have some coverage.’

However, a press release issued today took a more heated tone when describing the sculpture, saying it is an indictment of the insurance industry that ‘regularly rejects healthcare claims, especially pre-existing health conditions.’

Sijan said he likes ‘to report visually on the human condition of normal people.’ He added that the sculpture has a price tag of $80,000. Who would want to buy such a morbid work of art? ‘There are collectors in the world who are looking for something cutting edge, something that emotionally has a spike to it,’ said the artist.

And in case you were wondering: The artist said he buys his own healthcare insurance. ‘It’s Blue Shield,’ he said.

-- David Ng