Photorealism: A Challenge to Idealism and Abstraction

Duane Hanson - Woman Eating - 1971 - Polyester resin and fiberglass with oil and acrylic paints and found accessories - 50 x 30 x 55 in. - Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC (click photo for larger image)The name Photorealism (also known as Hyperrealism or Superrealism) was coined in reference to those artists whose work depended heavily on photographs, which they often projected onto canvas allowing images to be replicated with precision and accuracy. The exactness was often aided further by the use of an airbrush, which was originally designed to retouch photographs. The movement came about within the same period and context as Conceptual art, Pop Art, and Minimalism and expressed a strong interest in realism in art, over that of idealism and abstraction.

The work of Duane Hanson (1925-1996) explores social issues and the complexities of American identity. Hanson is considered one of the central members of the international Photorealist movement of the late twentieth century, a loose congregation of artists who favored naturalistic depiction over the abstract motifs of their contemporaries.

I’ll be teaching a single-session class on Photorealism THIS Thursday (11/2) at the Larchmont Temple. Register HERE if you’d like to attend.