Keep It Real

What makes an image “real”? And have our expectations for “real” changed over time? Realistic art of the past focused on showing how closely art could mimic the real world and photographs. Today many artists attempt to show a different “reality.” They experiment with varied techniques to capture specific details and manipulate images, expressing something new and eye-opening.

What makes an image seem real? Realistic art of the past tried to copy the real world or photographs. Today many artists try to show a different “reality.” They experiment with ways to capture details—and change them.

Don Eddy painted Without Stopping IV-A, above, in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. At the time, he regularly wandered New York City and eventually created a series of paintings of the city. He wanted to show its infrastructure as well as its loneliness then. “What I’m trying to get at is the intensity of my lived experience in the world,” he explains. “It’s a long way from what the camera can do.”

A pioneer of the photorealist movement in the 1970s, Eddy still works from photographs to make his paintings. But today, he uses photo editing software to play with perspective and alter colors. He then uses an extensive underpainting process, separating cool colors from warm. Then Eddy overpaints with between 20 and 30 layers of paint to render every highlight and shadow in vivid detail. Do you think Eddy’s process helps show intensity in this cityscape?

Don Eddy painted Without Stopping IV-A, above, in 2021. He wanted to show how lonely the buildings and bridges in New York City felt during the Covid-19 pandemic. He made a series of paintings. “What I’m trying to get at is the intensity of my lived experience,” he says. “It’s a long way from what the camera can do.”

Eddy was a leader of photorealism in the 1970s. He still uses photos to make paintings. Now he also uses photo-editing software to play with perspective and colors.

Eddy uses a process called underpainting. He paints base layers of cool and warm colors. Then he paints up to 30 more layers. This process is called overpainting. This creates highlights and shadows.

As a kid, Australian artist Ron Mueck liked making toys, and as an adult he got his start making puppets for children’s TV shows like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Since the 1990s, he has created figurative sculptures.

Mueck uses a clay mold to make a resin or silicone figure, which he paints, before adding hair and clothing. He often spends more than a year working on each sculpture, representing every detail of the face or body. Notice the fine wrinkles and stubble of a beard in his 2001-02 Mask II, above.

Although the figures are extremely realistic, Mueck plays with that realism by adjusting the scale. Some works are twice the size of an average person, and others are just a few feet tall. Mask II is nearly 4 feet long, much larger than a real head. “I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting,” Mueck says. “We meet life-size people every day. [Altering the scale] makes you take notice in a way that you wouldn’t do with something that’s just normal.”

As a kid, Australian artist Ron Mueck liked making toys. As an adult, he made puppets for kids’ TV shows. Now he works as a sculptor. He creates figurative sculptures, or representations of people.

Mueck uses a clay mold to make a figure out of silicone or resin. Then he paints it and adds hair and clothes. He captures every detail. His 2001-02 work Mask II is above.

Mueck’s figures are very realistic. But he plays with that realism by changing the scale. Some works are twice the size of a real person! Mask II is nearly 4 feet long. “I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting,” he says. “We meet life-size people every day. [Changing the scale] makes you take notice in a way that you wouldn’t do with something that’s just normal.”

Cindy Wright is a Belgian artist known for her large-scale hyperrealist still life paintings. Her works tend to have an unsettling quality. She chooses unusual subjects, like a stack of raw bacon or a decaying bouquet of flowers. She also composes her work with dramatic lighting, often shining bright light on the subject in the foreground in stark contrast to the dark, void-like background, as in her 2023 Aquarius, above.

The artist emphasizes the texture of the objects she paints. Notice how light shines on the octopus’s tentacles, the suckers, and the glass bowl in Aquarius. The artist explains, “I’m fascinated by observing surfaces, what does something feel like and how to translate this into paint.” Wright uses oil paint to render her subjects with startling detail and glossiness, almost like a billboard. The painter says she’s inspired by advertising techniques, and it’s easy to imagine the subject of Aquarius replaced with a bottle of perfume, rendered in the same glittering style.

Belgian artist Cindy Wright is known for her hyperrealist still life paintings. Still lifes usually feature objects like bowls of fruit. Wright chooses unusual subjects. This gives her paintings an unsettling quality. She also uses dramatic lighting. In her 2023 painting Aquarius, above, bright light shines on the subject in the foreground. This contrasts with the dark background.

Wright captures the texture of the objects she paints, showing how they’d feel if you could touch them. “I’m fascinated by observing surfaces,” she says.

Wright uses oil paint, creating a glossy surface, like a billboard. Wright says she’s inspired by advertising. Look again at Aquarius. Can you imagine it being used to sell a bottle of perfume?