DEFINE realism?

Question

This has been bothering me for awhile. How exactly DO you define realism?

Every one knows that photo realism is indeed realism. Outside of that there are many different styles of "realistic" art that OBVIOUSLY do not appear to be realistic at all and yet are still cosidered to be realism, i.e. a lot of things created using etching or done in pen.

I would like to know...where exactly do you draw the line? What IS realism?

Answer 1

although i concede that a realistic graphic work can be executed with pen(my favorite medium)the true test of "realism" is in the ability to trick or fool one into believing that a work is indeed real and not just a depiction;this is where "tromp l'oeil" painting comes into play!!a work without the standard outlined format where the appearance of light and shadow are allowed the lead in staging a work!!where fabrics change colorartion by the effect of light and shadow faces coloration is framed by shadow and changes of hue and not by lines and articial boundaries!!a work in which the absolute finest attention to detail is adhered to and then is yet magically enhance even further by metallic,leather,translucency in materials,droplets of water or liquidsforeshortened subject matter that fights off of the flat surface towards one!!that i believe should be elements that comprise "realism";but it still can't be just a technical tour de force...i believe it still has to "say something",excite us and make us considr something from a different and exhilerating perspective!!but whadda i know???

Answer 2

Realism was a short-lived art movement that followed Neo-Classicism and Romanticism in the mid-1800s. Characterized by subject matter that focused on the "real" struggles (political and economic) of the people of the day, it was a humanistic challenge to the to artistic subjects of earlier movements that dealt with mythology, Christianity, and the like.

See: Gustave Courbet

"Realistic" art, as it is commonly understood, is actually better described as "naturalistic."

There, how's that for a ton of debt from art school?

it's semantics, I know

Answer 3

Realism is an artist's attempt to recreate what he sees in nature (reality) using paint or other materials. Abstraction is taking from reality and adjusting the viewpoint so as to present a new view of the object, or a portion of it. Abstract expressionism is looking inside and expressing a point of view or response that is purely emotional, using nothing or very little from reality.

Answer 4

Definerealism

Answer 5

realism, for me, means 'true to form'... which may or may not be completely 'realistic'... but true to form.