The Case for Realism

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[JacopoMoruzzi]

To me the real problem is that most people think of the realist approach as the only one worth pursuing. They see a photorealistic painting and just because it makes them go "wow" they automatically label it as good art. And when they come across, let's say, medieval art, cubism or even modern comics (art forms where there is some kind of synthesis or abstraction) they think of those styles as inferior just because in their eyes the authors are not trying to replicate "reality".

[LinA-lihk]

I've always been haunted by realism precisely for the "stunt" one gets when seeing a realistic painting first-handedly, your mind tricks you into believing that there is no way this was painted, and for this I sought to learn and deconstruct what seemed to be impossible to achieve, and found out that it is much more than copying what you see--a craft that is, when painting a face you get certain serenity specially on large canvases, you're a god at work, as opposed to the immediate catharsis you get from more abstract styles, realism is indeed a reinvention and a control over what the artist wants you to see

[RichardHannay]

I'm definitely not into hyper-realism paintings (I prefer when you can tell they're paintings but the style makes it *feel* real), but I do appreciate the talent and patience they were able to achieve with the finished products.

[RainbowSprnklz]

i like how photo realism makes me slowly descend in the uncanny valley, if i made realist art itd be my goal to create a surrealist mood from a realistic image

[Patricia_Taxxon]

I love a lot of the works shown in this video, but I still feel as if every reason i like them is rooted in what separates them from a truly perfectly realistic representation.

[clarissahigginbotham]

I believe that one reason we love realism is it not easy. We like see people labours efforts in the things we do.

[franzbi]

There is something special in a painting that photography can't ever have.

[Francois_L_]

As strange as it may seem, I feel you can't really gain an appreciation for realism until you've seen a sculpture by Duane Henson in person. It's one thing to see the works in a book or on the internet, but when you're close to the real thing and can view it from many angles it just becomes fascinating. The amount of detail seems often greater than what any photograph can provide. You can see the textures and get the feeling that the work will start to move at any moment, yet it stays still and never changes. It's both quite fun yet eerie at the same time.

[leowright]

There's obviously a lot of talent and value in photorealistic art; I'm constantly practicing realism for the sake of technique, but I personally could never have the desire to pursue it for actual pieces. I think because I see the real world constantly I try to create more surreal or fantasy works myself, but I understand the value in every art style.

[AverySuzuki]

Happy you did this sarah. In online art discussions I often see photorealism looked down upon for being redundant to the photograph. My father is a photorealist, and I'm in art school trying to keep that sort of work going. It's nice to have a video we can point to to defend the work we do! Keep it up

[grasshoppa]

"Photographic images, movies, tv, magazines etc., are as important a part of our reality as actual phenomena. They strongly affect our perception of actual phenomena." That's a great quote obviously add computers and cellphones for today. I think that's something that most people are are totally unaware of.

[emmetcameron]

My favourite (hyper)realist paintings are Mary Pratt's domestic scenes, especially her jam jars. I saw a video at the National Gallery once about her process, working from slides, and it makes so much sense when you see how much light comes through in her final paintings, that she was studying the images from a backlit medium. She also made a very good case for why she bothers putting so much effort into recreating such simple moments in such a taxing medium, essentially that her experience of the world is that so many fleeting things call out to her to pay rapt attention. And so many of those moments have to do with traditionally feminine spheres such as food preservation which typically don't get the kind of glorification she has given them through her art. A national treasure. I love her.

[paperl]

7:47 That's... a painting? Someone painted that? With paint? Like, with their hands? How? How?

[jordanrambles]

I've always struggled with appreciating photorealism because 'who cares, cameras exist'. But I think a lot of it was envy because while I create art, it's mostly sketches because I do not have the attention span, as in, I think about all the other things I could be doing; usually meaning sitting around watching youtube videos lmao

[mbe]

One could think of realism and photorealism as acapella, you could listen to music with instrumental accompaniment, but sometimes its nice to consider the diversity of human voice at recreating the specific timbres of instruments. I would add that realism isn't just showing off methodical or robotic skill, its emphasizing the greater composition of the artwork by making the viewer almost forget about the execution. You can think are clearly about the choices an artist makes about color harmony, linear perspective, and other principles of design if you can be tricked into forgetting you're looking at carefully placed blobs of goo on a canvas.

[RavenclawFtW]

The case for realism is that there's a certain longing to see a display of skill that surpasses others. We want to see artists test the limits of their knowledge and abilities. These days, modernist art is considered some of the best simply because the artist is expressing themselves and yet leaving the art itself open to infinite interpretations by viewers. This floods the public mind with chaos and does not elevate our understanding of how to live life, or help us understand the truths that transcend generations. Modernist, cubist, and abstract art leave a gaping hole that can only be filled by objective observation and clear meaning in the art itself. That's why the Renaissance can still wow the public today. Its religious as well as some secular themes, and an inherently realist approach to painting human figures was able to take eternal truths and make them much more apparent to anyone who looks at them. That's what the Ghent Altarpiece, the School of Athens, and the Garden of Earthly Delights do. Modernist, abstract, impressionist, and cubist art cannot hope to do that anywhere near as well as realist or classical art.

[Xenolilly]

Imagine eating a glass sunflower seed. Oh dear.

[marcusburger]

I really like Realism, because you can distinguish the works of art by skill, you can spot mistakes and the lack there of. I know abstract art is also fascinating but there is something raw and admirable about realism the shear skill that is needed is impressive. You as the viewer instinctively know, that it took years to master this art. It is similar to sculptures you stand in front of them and you don’t care about the intention or whatever and just admire the fact that there are humans that can transform a rock into a lifelike statue.
Honestly it is one of the few art forms where I can really hate a piece but still admire it, that is rare.

[girliegirlie]

People can become very judgmental of realism, mostly driven by jealousy. Realist artists share they're unique point of view, creating beauty and even they're own believable reality. I'm tired of people critizicing realism diverting from the real purpose without even educating themselves.

[hui-an-xin]

So many wonderful things said in this video. Makes me feel more confident and happy about my own explorations into art.