Thursday 2 December 2010

Hyperrealism:

Hyperrealism is a fairly modern and independent genre of art which developed in the United States and Europe in the early 2000s. It is an art-form in which artists paint, draw or sculpt art similar to that of high-resolution photographs, and can be considered an advancement from photorealism. The artwork itself is commonly drawn from photos, and some artists even use projections of the photos to sketch the image before painting. Although the artwork is drawn/sculptured from photos, it is not a complete mimic of them. The photos are used to paint things that may not be seen from the human eye (e.g. circles of confusion created by cameras, textures, tones and expressions).

Alyssa Monks
Alyssa monks is a young artist (born 1977) from New Jersey. She uses oil paints and has done sincce a young age. Her paintings are a mixture of abstraction and realism, using a camera to capture her subject (realism) but shooting through filters such as water and steam (abstraction). “Realism and Abstraction are in a symbiotic relationship – they need each other to exist and eventually become the same.”





Friday 17 September 2010

Otto Dix

Otto Dix - Self portrait - 1913

I find this self portrait done by Otto Dix inspiring. The expression in this portrait is shown through the the thick brush strokes which appear as quite aggressive, giving masculinity and strength in its appearance, while also suggesting a degree of strain and oppression. The tones seen are neutral and soft giving depth as well as a dramatic persona to the painting. The contrast of the white background and the subject itself is quite strong, further emphasising the portraits dramatic appearance.

The neutral expression on Dix's face allows the tones and painting technique to express most of the emotion in the portrait. However, the subjective gaze indicates a feeling of confrontation, further indicating a tense period in time.

Although the painting appears confrontational due to this subjective gaze, I find myself sympathising for the subject; The head tilted slightly down, the heavy bags under the eyes and the soft tones all suggest a feeling of helplessness.