Contemporary Realism
By: Neal McLaughlin
America, with all of her charm and beauty is a continuously evolving country.
Time does not stand still for these United States. We are constantly seeking and
applying new and modern ways to express what lies deep within our hearts and
souls.
Whether it be through the invention of modern machinery, the publishing of new
ideas or through the form of art, the message is loud and clear: America is
forever expanding her horizons.
During the early and mid 1960's, as America was experiencing military, political
and social change, the art community, was itself, undergoing a metamorphism.
Starting in 1965, just as the abstract expressionism movement was dwindling in
popularity, the art community sought to challenge and hopefully to displace the
newer Modernism movement that was currently the trend in paintings, sculptures
and other forms of media.
To do so, many of the practicing abstract artists revived the older Greek
movement of Classical Realism. By applying an up-to-date twist on this classic
Greek movement, artist like Peter Hunt (1908-1984) and Andrew Wyeth (1917-)
helped to establish what has become known as Contemporary Realism.
Even though this movement was established in America many years after the
original Greek movement the artist were still to be bound by the concepts and
high traditions set forth in the Classical Realism.
This would not be a problem for these artists as many had gained their initial
art education through institutions that taught the principles of art through
line drawing techniques, balance, harmony, composition and color.
With these traditional concepts and principles as the foundation of the revised
movement, painters Neil Welliver (1929-), Mary Pratt (1935-) and
painter/sculptor Eric Fischl (1948-) helped to re-define the Realism movement.
Although the artisans of the Contemporary Realism movement were free to portray
their subject matter as seen though their individual eyes, they were required to
maintain the high standards of the Classical Realism. It is important that each
subject, regardless of medium, must be represented in a way so that it is
immediately recognizable by anyone who viewed the work.
The Realist, found that they could express their true emotions in loose and
interpretive portrayals or in a very precise and accurate, almost photographic
depiction. Regardless of their chosen technique, the common thread of bond was
that each of these creators sought to adhere to ideology established many years
before. In summation, they are intending to portray our ordinary, present-day
lives with special attention to representing individual and regional
eccentricities with a twist for the New World.
After 50 years of being practiced in the wings of the artistic community,
Contemporary Realism is making a reappearance. The artists of today see this as
a way to express our complex world and challenging Americans to look at how our
world is being shaped in addition to the beauty that it beholds.
