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PHOTOREALISM IS IT A PHOTO OR A PAINTING?

Ralph Goings, “Still Life with- Peppers,” 1981. PHOTO-WHAT? Photorealism is a genre in which artists paint an image originally captured on film. Artists would often develop and project the original image to capture the microscopic exactness of it. With a pho- tograph as the primary visual reference, revolutionary pho- torealists such as Richard Estes, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Audrey Flack, and others painted with the goal of photo- graphic accuracy. 01

According to Thomas Albright, art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, photorealism was when the “intervention between the painting and objects served to neutralize the original subject of the picture.” Jadranka Fatur,”School Bus”, 1985‘‘ ‘‘ the terms photorealism and photorealistic have sud- denly become much more visible because they’ve been applied in the hugely popular domain of computer gaming 02

HISTORY Photorealism was an art movement which evolved in the 1970s from POP ART (an artistic genre from the 1960s which used familiar images like advertisements as its subjects). a common pop art artwork. Photorealism was sometimes viewed as a counter response to the abstract and minimalist art movements associated with the same period. As photore- alism gained momentum, the use of photographs was met with intense criticism, despite the fact that artists had been using visual devices to aid their work for many centuries. Jadranka Fatur,”Ticket Booth”,1975 03

Jan Anders Nelson, “Amer- ican Land- scape,” 1975. Ralph Going, “Three in a plate”, 2008 CHuck Close,”Brad Pitt”,2011 Richard Estes, “telephone Booth”,1968 04

famous artworks chuck close Big Self-Portrait, a wa- tershed painting that virtually showcases Close’s unique meth- od. Abandoning the full-body view, Close turned to one of the oldest traditions any- where in art history, the self-portrait. Chuck Close, “Big Self Portrait”, 1967 Paintings such as “Lucas,” which de- picts fellow artist Lucas Samaras, are representative of Close’s later, more colorful and painterly style. Viewed close- up, the elements of the picture are seen as separate abstract markings. Chuck Close,”Lucas I”,1986 05

ralph goings Ralph Goings, “McDonals Pickup”, 1970 A McDonalds branch on a highway some- where in the American South; in a parking lot out front, a white pick- up truck in the merci- less noon sun. Pro- jecting vertically are a lonely palm tree with the Stars and Stripes hanging limp Hallmarks of photo- realism include thor- ough attention-to-de- tail as artists strive to reproduce minute details of a project- ed photograph with accuracy and preci- sion. Often, many will create small studies to work through ele- ments of the work’s Ralph Goings, “Sacramento Airport,” (1970). composition, perspec- tive, form and light. 06

RICHARD ESTES The Diner is a classic example of Estes showing the true picture of a Cityscape of New York. His use of complex reflecting materials is quite shown here. Richard Estes,”Diner”,1979 Richard estes,”NYC Parking Lot”. 1969 “NYC Parking Lot” illustrates 07 the artist’s interest in de- picting these reflections by depicting a group of cars and the distort- ed reflections of the city around them.

charles BEll Charles Bell,”Gumball Number 9”, 1975 Charles bells inspiration came from americas everyday loved toys. he worked mostly on oil on canvas. amongst them is the gum ball machine. he painted these gumballs with reflecting glass. Bell’s love for paints for toys is shown in this joyeous circus act of a dog, a cat and a drum. The paint- ing is screenprint on paper. Charles Bell,”Circus Act”, 1975 08

Richard Estes,”Urban Landscape”, 1984 Submitted by : Pratyush Anand