Realism in Contemporary Art

Despite the many styles and movements in 20threlate to these masterpieces, I think, because we
century art, from Minimalism to Dada to Abstractcan more readily see ourselves in these images.
Expressionism, the realistic portrayal of theWill future generations find these qualities in the
subject always seemed to be hovering in theHoly Mother smeared in animal excrement? Or
shadows, an ever-present constant in the historyYoko Ono's tiny black dot on a large white wall?
of art. And as the 21th century begins, Realism isThere should be skill in art, and lasting value that
set to move to the forefront once again. It iscan be appreciated throughout time.
representational art that brings the world aroundAndrew Wyeth has created work in a realistic
us onto the canvas; it is a language that evenstyle throughout his career, and his paintings have
those who are ignorant of art can appreciate.resonated with critics and the public irrespective
If you follow the history of Western art, you willof current trends in art. Although Wyeth paints in
see that, in its larger trends, it has alternateda realistic manner, he is considered one of the
between representational and non-representationalgreat American artists of the twentieth century.
phases, beginning with semi-abstract work, suchIn any field, not just art, we admire work that
as the prehistoric cave paintings of Spain anddemonstrates that the person responsible for it
France, then blossoming into the fully realisticput time, thought, effort and skill into its creation.
sculpture and murals of Rome and Greece. It thenThe best paintings of the Abstract Expressionists
returns to stylized, symbolic imagery in the Middledisplay great thought and insight into the principles
Ages, followed by a return to naturalism duringof design, and should be admired for this. But to
the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Thiscompare the amount of effort and technical skill
emphasis on realism lasted until the advent ofput into it, with that involved with a work by
photography in the 19th century, which helped toRembrandt or Rubens is pointless.
usher in Impressionism, Pointillism and others. TheThe key to a great painting is it's visual
culmination of this trend was Abstractquality---think about that statement. This is so
Expressionism and other modernist movementsobvious to the non-artist, yet many modern
which emphasized the total abstraction of theartists have become so lost in conceptual thinking
subject.that they've forgotten the most important thing
Although I have done works in more modernabout a work of visual art: it should be interesting
styles, I have found traditional realism to be theto look at!
best vehicle for my goals as an artist. And it is aI know an artist who was obsessed with creating
fortunate thing too, as realism and figurative worka work that would move contemporary art in an
is regaining prominence in mainstream western art.entirely new direction. He covered a canvas with
Of course, it never really vanished, as the paintersa uniform layer of colored dots of paint, creating
Lucian Freud and David Hockney havea confetti-like appearance. No shapes or patterns
demonstrated in their careers. It was also evident,emerged from these dots; the overall effect was
in different ways, in the work of artists usuallybland and nondescript. The artist said a work like
associated with other movements, such as thethis could only be done once; I would go further
Surrealist Salvador Dali.and say that a work like that could only be
The general trend in modern times has been theviewed once! There was no long-term value to it,
simplification of the visual elements that make upno complexity or depth, no reason for the viewer
the subject. This began with the Impressioniststo return to explore the work further.
and continued through the AbstractDon't misunderstand me--I am a great fan of
Impressionists. But how far can you simplify themuch of modern art. But there is a limit to how
subject? To a blank canvas? To no canvas at all?far an artist can effectively simplify a subject to
There is a point at which the modern artist has toits essence and still interest the viewer; at some
rediscover the inherent aesthetic value of reality.point, the only way to go is backward, returning
A cow suspended in a tank of formaldehyde orto a more representational approach.
elephant dung splattered on the Virgin Mary areYes, I champion realism over abstraction; it
worn out "artistic statements." They pose thealways draws us back eventually. And I believe
same question that the artist Marcel Duchamp didthat realism will soon regain a commanding position
when he painted a urinal, turned it upside downin Western art; then it will likely return to some
and called it art. Duchamp's act was significant atdegree of abstraction, in a continuation of the
the onset of the twentieth century; it forced uscycle we have witnessed since prehistory. Realism
to question what constitutes art. Now it is simplyand abstraction are really two sides of the same
redundant.coin; an abstract work is just a simplified version
There have always been certain characteristicsof a realistic one, and a realistic work is simply a
that human beings associate with beauty. Wemore developed version of an abstract one. But
admire the Roman murals found in Pompeii, theRealism has always been the foundation, and
woodcut prints of the Japanese and the Monaundoubtedly will soon return to dominate the
Lisa, even though they are centuries old. We canvisual arts once again.