I've been toying with the idea of writing a thesis or a book recently that addresses many issues that I have with the current contemporary art world's acceptance of every artist's own self-defined definitions of "hyperrealism". And much to my dismay, I've encountered far more annoying issues than I would have liked to. Annoying issues like the popular concept (and accepted so-called "truth") amung artists that a camera "lies" and does not show what we see with our eyes.
If any artist knew half an iota about the psysiology of the human eye, the psychological aspects of vision and visual perception, and had ever seen a camera lens, they would know this is not a true statement. Although it is not entirely untrue either.
On the other hand, I've yet to read or hear from a psychologist who knows anything about art beyond a scientific-observer's point of view. So although I adore Rudolf Arnheim's books Visual Thinking and Art and Visual Perception, he fails to understand the inner workings, inner truths, and the psychology of the art itself. It's seen from a stagnant outsider's vantagepoint and with a misappropriated passion-- the passion of an outsider envyous of the aesthetics, following his own perceptive reaction to the work of art and then mirroring that perception onto the work as if he understands what's truly being done by the artist. The best analogy I have heard for artists, artwork, and their illusions is that of the magician. When you see the magician pull a rabit from his empty hat, you have a reaction of disbelief, no understanding, and awe all coupled together into what becomes your perception of "magic". You may think it "came out of thin air" or that it just "appeared"... nevermind the fact that you weren't able to see him pull the rabbit out of a hidden pocket inside the hat. So how can an observer make any sort of in-depth analysis of the illusion without knowing or understanding how the illusion was created in the first place? He can't.
But the magician is also unaware of why his tricks make people react the way they do beyond the superficial responses that his audiences have. He knows that they are amazed and in disbelief because of the inner workings of the trick, but does not know how the trick-of-the-eye works on a psychological level; how perception of reality is manipulated with hiding information from the person's mind, because our minds fill in the missing information with their own conclusions.
Anyway, as much as I love psychology and all of this, it's still hard for me to wrap my head around it in a good enough way to put it into writing.
Basically, I believe that Hyperrealism is literally that: HYPER realism - above/beyond realism. In other words, it is realism in art that goes beyond the extend of realism that has previously been done before with movements like the rennaissance, pre-raphaellites, boroque, contemporary realism, and others. I do not agree with self-acclaimed "hyperrealists" who state in their own words that they "work with the abstractions of a photograph that are impossibilities in reality, which only occur because of the distortions and imperfections of a camera lens". Pardon me, but that is frankly a pile of bologna. Out of date, bologna that's been sitting in the hot summer sun for 3 weeks to be more precise. Because that's NOT realism. That's an ego-stroking excuse for laxidazical abstract painting within the guise of technical realism. Unfortunately, only a trained eye can tell the difference between the two, because most would only say that one artist's work is "better" than anothers', without even really knowing what they mean by that phrase.
So I want to set things straight. Hyperrealism is about a more "realistic" realism. Abstractions in the camera are not to be expressed or interpreted, except in the sense that they should be used as visual clues as to the underlying form that exists within the subject of the photograph. Do not paint the photo. Paint what you know exists within the photo. Make it real. So real that it becomes magical, because afterall, magic is one of the most brilliant attributes of art. Art, imagination, and magic are what drive the creative mind, they are what inspire people and artists alike. Magic makes us re-think our perceptions of the world we know, and the rules we abide by. Magic opens our minds to new possibilities. Instead of feeding our potential collectors, fans, and art viewers with "art-talk" excuses for our work, we need to reach deeper into our hats, look harder, and don't pull out the same rabbit we've pulled out before- the same rabbit every artist can pull out of their hats. No, instead we should reach with all our hearts, minds, and abilities and pull a Boeing passenger jet from our pocketbook. Pull the wool over our audiences' eyes with our precise, trained, hard work and abilities to re-invent the illusion; to set new standards for what is possible with magic. And inspire.
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