Contemporary Realism A Visual Art Style Creating Images Beyond Aesthetic Appeal

Contemporary realism is a visual art style that draws attraction from art patrons who take interest in artworks not just for their aesthetic qualities. Visual artists who support the concept of Realism use their creative talent in presenting ideas in a more truthful and realistic countenance. That way, viewers can relate the visual presentation to what they actually observe and experience in their everyday lives.

Realism in visual art started out as a movement during the mid 19th century, to oppose Romantic art. The latter style expresses artistic concepts based on imagination and emotion rather than on what is true and rational. In the literary field, William Shakespeare described romantic poets and authors as proponents of work that express “poetry of emotions.”

The Realism movement had actually raised the level of precision and detail that artists incorporate in their artwork. The motivation of which is to capture the real beauty of natural subjects as they occur in the real world.

Contemporary Realism Further Evolved with the Adoption of Photorealism

Although advancements in technology are being harnessed by modern day artists, genuinely skilled and creative artists use them minimally; usually as a means of expediting the execution of routine tasks. Their purpose is to have more time to focus and contemplate on the precise details that will make their subjects appear truly realistic in all aspects.

In line with such desire to do so, American artists in the 1960s era turned to using photographs as reference in artistically creating images. This came to be known as photorealism, since painters and sculptors relied on photographs. In the 1970s, advancements in technology introduced a complex process of casting molds of live models. The technology enabled sculptors to capture realistic likenesses using bronze or fibreglass resin.