Thursday, February 23, 2012
Work in Progress
Here's a photo of me sitting in front of my current painting, which will be displayed in my upcoming exhibition at Pirate: Contemporary Art Oasis in Denver, CO on March 9, 2012.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Hyperrealism & Photorealism for dummies
Blogs are very bizarre things. They enable an infinite number of people from various backgrounds and all over the globe to all hold a sort of discussion. The impersonal nature of blogs allows people to open up to saying things they might otherwise not express, sometimes in ways that are offensive, sometimes in ways that are profound. The tendency with blogs that I have seen (regarding Art) is that they are flooded with naivety and harshly firm opinions that are not backed by fact or any decent argument. They are instead, however, a free-for-all of adults acting like children, throwing comments out that are the Art-world equivalent of "I know you are but what am I?", or "You're dumb, la la la I'm not listening..."
The issue I have is the lack of desire to reach an understanding; to learn about the other people's views. Or at the least, to learn about whatever it is they are feverishly opinionated about.
I receive notifications about any sites or blogs with the tag "hyperrealism" via google, and I'm a bit perturbed with what I read on blogs regarding this fine genre of Art. Opinions are the blood cells that make up the world of Art, so I am in no way trying to disregard or depreciate anyone's opinion. Rather, I am merely trying to shed some light on what is quite clearly a highly misunderstood genre of Fine Art.
The most frequent comments I read are that the images are "indiscernible from a photograph, and therefore pointless", that the "compositions (and subject matter) are boring and not pleasing to look at", and the artist "slavishly copies every detail without any personal expression, therefore removing any artistic or creative voice". All these opinions adding up to the main theme, which is that Hyperrealism is pointless and/or not even Art.
I invite anyone who feels these opinions to see a hyperrealistic painting in person. The objective is NOT to simply copy-and-paste the photographic image onto canvas. Nor is it a vain exersize in self-gratification by demonstrating one's technical abilities. And have you ever stopped to ask yourself, why did the artist chose "such a boring image"? Even realists have concepts behind their work, and the lack of an ability to look deeper into an image only reveals an art-viewer's lack of intellect and open-thought in art. If you can see why a used urinal signed "R. Mutt" is high-art, then you should undoubtedly be able to see why hyperrealism is as well.
The problem with an argument regarding "indicernibility from a photograph" is that the viewer is making a bold assumption that they know what the photograph looked like in the first place. Artists add, subtract, abstract, and alter details both large and small throughout the entire painting in order to impliment values and beliefs they hold regarding realism and painting. Color theories, edge qualities, perspectives, camera distortions, proportions, light, values, contrast.... need I go on? In many cases, the image is not from a single photograph- sometimes up to 5 or more photographs are used for references in order to create an image that cannot be captured by the camera.
As for myself, my personal artistic expression is in the way I apply brush strokes, the imagery that I am creating, the purpose behind the work, the way I interpret clues from a photograph and manipulate them into a more "realistic" image, and more. Though your pop-corn-art-viewer may only see a copy, an artist with an eye for subtlety and detail will clearly see the impossibility of what I, and so many other artists like me, have created.
One final note I have to say: In a world dominated by conceptual art, where in order to understand the work you must look deeper into the purpose and meaning behind it (which most often can only be recognized through the words of the artists themselves), art-viewers/critics need to take another minute to look at themselves and the way they act when looking at a hyperrealistic work of art. Are you fairly assessing the work that sits in front of you and attempting to think outside the box, as you would with any conceptual work of art? Or are you closing your mind to presumption, and disregarding an entire genre that evolved from the "masters" themselves, catering only to what you believe is "hip" in the art world today?...
The issue I have is the lack of desire to reach an understanding; to learn about the other people's views. Or at the least, to learn about whatever it is they are feverishly opinionated about.
I receive notifications about any sites or blogs with the tag "hyperrealism" via google, and I'm a bit perturbed with what I read on blogs regarding this fine genre of Art. Opinions are the blood cells that make up the world of Art, so I am in no way trying to disregard or depreciate anyone's opinion. Rather, I am merely trying to shed some light on what is quite clearly a highly misunderstood genre of Fine Art.
The most frequent comments I read are that the images are "indiscernible from a photograph, and therefore pointless", that the "compositions (and subject matter) are boring and not pleasing to look at", and the artist "slavishly copies every detail without any personal expression, therefore removing any artistic or creative voice". All these opinions adding up to the main theme, which is that Hyperrealism is pointless and/or not even Art.
I invite anyone who feels these opinions to see a hyperrealistic painting in person. The objective is NOT to simply copy-and-paste the photographic image onto canvas. Nor is it a vain exersize in self-gratification by demonstrating one's technical abilities. And have you ever stopped to ask yourself, why did the artist chose "such a boring image"? Even realists have concepts behind their work, and the lack of an ability to look deeper into an image only reveals an art-viewer's lack of intellect and open-thought in art. If you can see why a used urinal signed "R. Mutt" is high-art, then you should undoubtedly be able to see why hyperrealism is as well.
The problem with an argument regarding "indicernibility from a photograph" is that the viewer is making a bold assumption that they know what the photograph looked like in the first place. Artists add, subtract, abstract, and alter details both large and small throughout the entire painting in order to impliment values and beliefs they hold regarding realism and painting. Color theories, edge qualities, perspectives, camera distortions, proportions, light, values, contrast.... need I go on? In many cases, the image is not from a single photograph- sometimes up to 5 or more photographs are used for references in order to create an image that cannot be captured by the camera.
As for myself, my personal artistic expression is in the way I apply brush strokes, the imagery that I am creating, the purpose behind the work, the way I interpret clues from a photograph and manipulate them into a more "realistic" image, and more. Though your pop-corn-art-viewer may only see a copy, an artist with an eye for subtlety and detail will clearly see the impossibility of what I, and so many other artists like me, have created.
One final note I have to say: In a world dominated by conceptual art, where in order to understand the work you must look deeper into the purpose and meaning behind it (which most often can only be recognized through the words of the artists themselves), art-viewers/critics need to take another minute to look at themselves and the way they act when looking at a hyperrealistic work of art. Are you fairly assessing the work that sits in front of you and attempting to think outside the box, as you would with any conceptual work of art? Or are you closing your mind to presumption, and disregarding an entire genre that evolved from the "masters" themselves, catering only to what you believe is "hip" in the art world today?...
Monday, December 12, 2011
Upcoming show/auction! Dec 16th 2011
As you may know, I am a member of Pirate: Contemporary Art Oasis. This upcoming Friday, December 16 at 6pm I will be participating in their 32nd Anniversary Show & Auction Fundraiser event. Several members will be submitting an 18in x 18in work of art for auction, and all proceeds from the silent auction will go towards keeping Pirate alive. Below is an image of the painting that I will have available for the auction. Bids start at $50. Visit www.pirateartonline.org for more information!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Works in progress
So I am still working my current medium-scale narrative painting, however I've also begun work on an 18" x 18" painting for a fundraiser auction at Pirate: Contemporary Art Oasis. I started working on a simple painting that is based off of a common theme shared among other hyperrealists: stacked books. I thought it would be a great, simple way to communicate some of the various inspirations behind my work, so I grabbed books from art, to psychology, to Sylvia Plath. As I began, I realized that there is so much more to this that I need to investigate. I also have had this nagging in my mind telling me to go back to my roots in drawing.
I think that the book painting will have to wait, because I believe for the auction I should strip down to the nitty gritty. What can I do with a #7 or #5 mechanical pencil (and only that)? ....
I think that the book painting will have to wait, because I believe for the auction I should strip down to the nitty gritty. What can I do with a #7 or #5 mechanical pencil (and only that)? ....
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Ignorance of the Professionals... or something like that
I am officially about to begin painting, and I have to say, I'm quite ecstatic! It's been a few weeks (believe it or not) since I've so much as touched my airbrush, and I'm really happy to pick it up again. I have the reference photographed, edited in photoshop, additional references photographed, and I have completed the grid and drawing on the canvas, which I have also coated and smoothed. And just today I finished mixing most of my paints. Gotta say, this feels good...
Although I have not settled on a title, I have some ideas in mind. I will not finalize my decision until I have completed the painting, but the one I'm thinking right now is "The Ignorance of the Professionals". Since I am re-appropriating Caravaggio's "The Incredulity of St. Thomas", I figured using a title of similar likeness would be in good nature. However, I would like to put my own variation on the Biblical verse illustrated in that scene somewhere too. I've even considered giving the painting a ridiculously lavished frame (much like classical works) and put a brass plaque on the bottom part of it that has inscribed, "Blessed are they who do not suffer, and yet have compassion." ....something of that sort.
This is a project I have been thinking about for a long time, and I truly hope it comes out the way I envision it. I can't wait to see it completed and on display!
Although I have not settled on a title, I have some ideas in mind. I will not finalize my decision until I have completed the painting, but the one I'm thinking right now is "The Ignorance of the Professionals". Since I am re-appropriating Caravaggio's "The Incredulity of St. Thomas", I figured using a title of similar likeness would be in good nature. However, I would like to put my own variation on the Biblical verse illustrated in that scene somewhere too. I've even considered giving the painting a ridiculously lavished frame (much like classical works) and put a brass plaque on the bottom part of it that has inscribed, "Blessed are they who do not suffer, and yet have compassion." ....something of that sort.
This is a project I have been thinking about for a long time, and I truly hope it comes out the way I envision it. I can't wait to see it completed and on display!
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