Hyperrealism in painting: the illusion of life or escape from reality?

Mankind has for centuries sought to fix, with the help of various artistic means, not only a material reality surrounding reality, but also its emotions, feelings and feelings. Each epoch manifested itself in a new or old, but a modified artistic style, corresponding to it. Some of them just went out of fashion and were forgotten, while others became classics and serve as standards today.

Hyperrealism in painting appeared in the middle of the last century, but it is actively developing today. What is this direction, what is its peculiarity, we will try to tell in this article.

What it is?

To begin with, the word "hyperrealism" is made up of two words: Latin - realis - "material", "real", and Greek - hyper - "over." That is, a detached view of reality as if from the side, from above, beyond situations. Quite often critics and art critics, under the term "new materiality", unite and jointly consider hyperrealism and photorealism, painting, creativity of artists, considering these terms synonymous.

Thus, under hyperrealism is understood the artistic direction in painting, based on a photographic exact reproduction of reality, combining the naturalness of images and at the same time their dramatic alienation.

Art critics point out that hyperrealism in painting is close to pop art. Unites them as a complex composition, and orientation to pragmatism and naturalism, at times excessive.

A bit of history

The emergence in the United States in the 60s of the twentieth century of a trend such as hyperrealism has become quite a noticeable event for the world's fine arts. The first American hyperrealists are:

• D. Salt, who painted abandoned cars.
• R. Goings and R. Est, depicting the life of cities, reflected in the windows.
• R. Cottingham, in whose pictures - various billboards.
• R. McLien, who wrote horse racing.

The Brussels exhibition of works of art, held in 1973, and published on the occasion of its holding the catalog were called "Hyperrealism". In painting, artists were represented mostly American. But the works of a number of European artists were also exhibited in this direction: Gnoli, Delkola, Gerhard Richter, Clafek.

Thirty years later, the word "hyperrealism" was used to refer to the style of artists imitating photographs using various pictorial means. Their canvases depict modern shop windows and metro stations, technical appliances, buildings and people, various household appliances and household items, food.

Features of style

Hyperrealism in painting is characterized by precision and dispassion, the reproduction of the surrounding reality without an emotional relationship on the part of the artist.

A special feature of this trend is the imitation of photography and its inherent principle of automatism of fixation, as well as documentalism and a somewhat mechanical character of the images. In their canvases, artists of this genre seek to create an atmosphere of some super-reality - alienated and static, cold and dispassionate, detached from the viewer.

Genres

It is worth noting that hyperrealism in painting has a plot. In it, we can distinguish (rather arbitrarily) three main genres:

• still life;
• landscape;
• portrait.

However, these are not classical genres, but a special group of plots that can be defined as an objective world - a city and street-people.

Still life

Considering the subjects that use hyperrealism, creativity, paintings by both American and Russian artists, it is easy to find some commonality in the detailed elaboration of details and the negation of abstract forms, and also to notice the difference in the themes and depicted objects. For Western hyperrealists, the image of the achievements of a consumer society (goods in a bright, glossy appearance) is characteristic.

Domestic artists of this direction, such as, for example, O. Fleka, R. Goins, in their canvases are mainly objects of the surrounding reality (brick wall or fence).

Landscape

At first glance at the landscapes of artists-hyperrealists, one gets the impression that they are only interested in modern megacities and neon lights of signboards, highways and deserted streets, as well as ordinary and seemingly unremarkable manifestations of simple life. In landscape works you can see empty cities and streets, some artificial, filled with a sense of loneliness and devastation. Particular attention in the hyperrealistic landscape is given to images of traffic signs, acting as fateful pointers, and interlacing wires that serve as the thread of Ariadne in the modern world.

Portrait

Artists-hyperrealists do not copy real people, but draw them in detail and very reliably so that they produce very realistic images with elaborate details and details.

In this direction it is customary to use such advanced techniques and techniques of photography and cinematography as:

• Various optical effects;
• Author's storyboard;
• Shooting from a high point;
• close-up;
• installation.

Thus, it can be said that the artists of hyperrealism create a convincing and colorful illusion of reality, which is more plausible in works than there is in reality. Works of this direction symbolically reflect the modern environment and draw our attention to the everyday details of everyday life.