"Cuba" - oil on canvas, 100 x 70 cm, 2012
Recently we encountered
a great Romanian artist_ Dragos Raicu. We felt in love with his art and his
story. In order to better understand his
art that fits into hyperrealism we want the public to have a scholastic view
over what photorealism and hyperrealism means:
Origins of Photorealism –“ As a
full-fledged art movement, Photorealism evolved from Pop Art and as a counter to Abstract Expressionism as well as Minimalist
art movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United
States.
Photorealists use a photograph or
several photographs to gather the information to create their paintings and it
can be argued that the use of a camera and photographs is an acceptance of
Modernism. However, the admittance to the use of photographs in Photorealism was
met with intense criticism when the movement began to gain momentum in the late
1960s, despite the fact that visual devices had been used since the fifteenth
century to aid artists with their work.
Thus, the culmination of the invention of the photograph was
a break in art's history towards the challenge facing the artist - since the
earliest known cave drawings - trying to replicate the scenes they viewed.
Pop Art and Photorealism were both reactionary movements
stemming from the ever increasing and overwhelming abundance of photographic
media, which by the mid 20th century had grown into such a massive phenomenon
that it was threatening to lessen the value of imagery in art.]However,
whereas the Pop artists were primarily pointing out the absurdity of much of
the imagery (especially in commercial usage), the Photorealists were trying to
reclaim and exalt the value of an image.
Definition - The word Photorealism was coined
by Louis K. Meisel in 1969 and appeared in print for the
first time in 1970 in a Whitney Museum catalogue for the show "Twenty-two
Realists." It is also sometimes labeled as Super-Realism, New Realism.
Styles - According to many, photorealist painting cannot exist
without the photograph. In Photorealism, change and movement must be frozen in
time which must then be accurately represented by the artist. Photorealists
gather their imagery and information with the camera and photograph. Once the
photograph is developed (usually onto a photographic slide) the artist will
systematically transfer the image from the photographic slide onto canvases. Usually this is done either by projecting the slide onto the canvas or by
using traditional grid techniques. The resulting images are often direct copies
of the original photograph but are usually larger than the original photograph
or slide. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often
with an emphasis on imagery that requires a high level of technical prowess and
virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular
surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs.
Artists - The first generation of American photorealists
includes such painters as Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle, and Tom Blackwell. Often working independently of each
other and with widely different starting points, these original photorealists
routinely tackled mundane or familiar subjects in traditional art genres--landscapes (mostly urban rather than naturalistic), portraits, and still lifes.
Though the movement is primarily associated with
painting, Duane Hanson and John DeAndrea are sculptors associated with photorealism for their painted, lifelike
sculptures of average people that were complete with simulated hair and real clothes. They are called Verists.
Artists Charles Bell, John Kacere, and Howard Kanovitz
have died; Audrey Flack, Chuck Close, and Don Eddy have moved in different
directions other than photorealism; and Robert Cottingham no longer considers
himself a photorealist.
Since 2000 - Though the height of Photorealism was in the 1970s the
movement continues and includes several of the original photorealists as well
as many of their contemporaries. According to Meisel's Photorealism at the
Millennium, only eight of the original photorealists were still creating
photorealist work in 2002; nine including Howard Kanovitz.
Newer Photorealists are building upon the foundations set
by the original photorealists. Examples would be the influence of Richard Estes
in works by Anthony Brunelli or the influence of Ralph Goings and Charles Bell
in works by Glennray Tutor. However, this has led many to move on
from the strict definition of photorealism as the emulation of the photograph,
and the artist Clive Head now actively disassociates himself
from the term, even though he has been closely associated with photorealism in
the past.
Photorealism is no longer simply an American art
movement. Starting with Franz Gertsch in the 1980s Clive Head, Raphaella
Spence, Bertrand Meniel, and Roberto Bernardi are several European artists
associated with photorealism that have emerged since the mid-1990s.
The evolution of technology has brought forth
photorealistic paintings that exceed what was thought possible with paintings;
these newer paintings by the photorealists are sometimes referred to as "Hyperrealism." With
new technology in cameras and digital equipment, artists are able to be far
more precision-oriented.
History of Hyperrealism - Belgian art dealer Isy Brachot coined the French word Hyperréalisme,
meaning Photorealism, as the title of a major exhibition
and catalogue at his gallery in Brussels in 1973. The exhibition was dominated by such American
Photorealists as Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Robert Bechtle and Richard McLean; but it included such influential European artists as
Gnoli, Richter, Klapheck and Delcol. Since then, Hyperealisme has been
used by European artists and dealers to apply to painters influenced by the
Photorealists.
However, Hyperrealism is contrasted with the literal
approach found in traditional photorealist paintings of the late 20th century.
Hyperrealist painters and sculptors use photographic images as a reference
source from which to create a more definitive and detailed rendering, one that
often, unlike Photorealism, is narrative and emotive in its
depictions. Strict Photorealist painters tended to imitate photographic images,
omitting or abstracting certain finite detail to maintain a consistent over-all
pictorial design. They often omitted human emotion, political value, and
narrative elements. Since it evolved from Pop Art, the photorealistic style of
painting was uniquely tight, precise, and sharply mechanical with an emphasis
on mundane, everyday imagery.
Hyperrealism, although photographic in essence, often
entails a softer, much more complex focus on the subject depicted, presenting
it as a living, tangible object. These objects and scenes in Hyperrealism
paintings and sculptures are meticulously detailed to create the illusion of a
reality not seen in the original photo. That is not to say they're surreal, as the illusion is a convincing depiction of (simulated) reality.
Textures, surfaces, lighting effects, and shadows appear clearer and more
distinct than the reference photo or even the actual subject itself.
Hyperrealism has its roots in the philosophy of Jean Baudrillard, ”the simulation of something which
never really existed.” As such, Hyperrealists create a false reality, a
convincing illusion based on a simulation of realty
Style and methods - The Hyperrealist style focuses much more of its emphasis
on details and the subjects. Hyperreal paintings and sculptures are not strict
interpretations of photographs, nor are they literal illustrations of a
particular scene or subject. Instead, they utilize additional, often subtle,
pictorial elements to create the illusion of a reality which in fact either
does not exist or cannot be seen by the human eye. Furthermore, they may
incorporate emotional, social, cultural and political thematic elements as an
extension of the painted visual illusion; a distinct departure from the older
and considerably more literal school of Photorealism.
Hyperrealist painters and sculptors make allowances for
some mechanical means of transferring images to the canvas or mold, including
preliminary drawings or grisaille underpaintings and molds. Photographic slide
projections or multi media projectors are used to project images onto canvases
and rudimentary techniques such as gridding may also be used to ensure accuracy.
Anomalies found in digital images, such as fractalization, are also exploited
to emphasize their digital origins by some Hyperrealist painters, such as Chuck Close, Denis Peterson, Bert Monroy and Robert Bechtle.
Themes - Subject matter ranges from portraits,
figurative art, still life, landscapes, cityscapes and narrative scenes. The
more recent hyperrealist style is much more literal than Photorealism as to exact pictorial detail with an
emphasis on social, cultural or political themes. This also is in stark
contrast to the newer concurrent Photorealism with its continued avoidance of
photographic anomalies. Hyperrealist painters at once simulate and improve upon
precise photographic images to produce optically convincing visual illusions of
reality, often in a social or cultural context. Some hyperrealists have exposed
totalitarian regimes and third world military governments through their
narrative depictions of the legacy of hatred and intolerance. Denis Peterson, Gottfried Helnwein and Latif Maulan depicted
political and cultural deviations of societal decadence in their work. Peterson's work focused on diasporas, genocides and refugees. Helnwein developed unconventionally narrative
work that centered around past, present and future deviations of the Holocaust. Maulan’s work is
primarily a critique of society’s apparent disregard for the helpless, the
needy and the disenfranchised. Provocative subjects include enigmatic imagery
of genocides, their tragic aftermath and the ideological consequences.Thematically,
these controversial hyperreal artists aggressively confronted the corrupted
human condition through narrative paintings as a phenomenological medium. These
lifelike paintings are an historical commentary on the grotesque mistreatment
of human beings.
Hyperreal paintings and sculptures further create a
tangible solidity and physical presence through subtle lighting and shading
effects. Shapes, forms and areas closest to the forefront of the image visually
appear beyond the frontal plane of the canvas; and in the case of sculptures,
details have more clarity than in nature. Hyperrealistic images are typically
10 to 20 times the size of the original photographic reference source, yet
retain an extremely high resolution in color, precision and detail. Many of the paintings are
achieved with an airbrush, using acrylics, oils or a combination of both.” (Adapted from Wikipedia)
Now,
back to Dragos Raicu: a Romanian born self-taught artist that has a unique
approach. He is at first using only oil paints and brushes. No airbrush spray
paints or acrylics are part of his work. His images are imaginary generated so
no photographs or multimedia devices are used to stimulate his work. This
already differentiates him from all others. Dragos Raicu is an engineer whose intention
was to follow fine art in early eighties but his family put him on a technical
pattern instead. Since then, Dragos
Raicu is constantly painting without showing his work on galleries or presenting
them to art dealers.
Most
of his 30 years of work has been donated to friends, relatives or co-workers.
His professional corporate career is also as his paintings- perfect.
His
art process starts with a basic pen drawing on gesso canvas and it goes successively
to underlying of paints up to the final megarealistic details.
He
is a connoisseur of human anatomy, horse anatomy as well as still life
composition. Primarily his subjects are superrealists in the true value of the
definition. The colors are fresh and the vibrante between light and shadow is
perfectly balanced. Honestly, his paintings are not a subject striking, and it
should stay that way- they strike because of his impeccable craft and because
it is so obvious no photographs are used.
Soon
we will come back to his art. Note: the painting process for a 100x80 cm is
close to 6 month, 3 hours a day.
Details from the paintings above:
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