Why do artists do Hyperrealistic art? put simply, because they can. Creating a piece of artwork that is hard to tell the difference between it being a photo or professional drawing, is a huge accomplishment and reflects great talent in the acute detail the artist can see and translate to paper. Many people find it hard to believe this level of detail can be captured by artists. The level of detail that is captured is mainly down to years of experience in fine tuning how the artist sees a subject, seeing the minutest of detail and translating it exactly to their canvas or paper.
As we all see everything around us slightly differently from one another, this is the same with art and why art is extremely subjective, what one person sees in a piece of art another may not see. This is the same with hyperrealist artists, what one artist may see within their subject/reference, and the detail they are trying to reproduce, another artist may not see, and the level and detail to which they see it also differs from artist to artist, this is the principle of what separates Hyperrealism artists from all other artists.
I personally think hyperrealistic art is truly gorgeous and shows a phenomenal level of talent in an artist. It’s a true reflection on how detailed their eye captures a subject and how they can reproduce exactly, shapes and tones in such a precise way, that it is hard to separate from the actual live thing, whether that be on paper, canvas or in a sculpture.
In all professions, there is a holy grail of achievement, whether you’re a hairdresser or professional athelete, there is a level achievement in all, that will set you apart from the majority by having an acute talent in that field. Hyperrealism is simply about achieving high fidelity realism in drawing, painting or sculpture that reflects the still life, life model or flat reference, exactly.
One main reason artists work to achieve a level of hyperrealism in their work is its extremely fulfilling. As an artist if you can achieve something that when you look at it, looks so much like the real thing it amazes people, is a great feeling of achievement. It also reflects a huge level of skill and talent and can give an artist a higher level of recognition in their professional arena.
With regards to “Why not just take a photograph” these are two completely different mediums with two different intentions. The principle of duplicating something exactly is quite simple with a camera, mainly due to the camera and technology acheiving this in an instant. Whereas, when an artist creates something hyperrealistic, it is the artist that replaces the camera technology with raw talent and an acute eye for detail. This basic principle of hyperrealism I truly love, as nowadays old school talent and skills have quite often been replaced with technology in a multitude of industries across the globe. That said photography is not just a point and shoot exercise, for great photography there is also a great amount of skill and talent required, it has similarities to the skillset required for great art but relates more to how the basic aesthetics of the subject are captured in light, mood and depth to the photograph. A great photographer will see the subject to be photographed and enhance it to its maximum with the camera, so adding to the initial subject. In principle whether it be a photographer, artist or sculpturer its about adding that something extra special to a composition making it stand out from the crowd and in doing so reflecting a great level of skill and talent.
Secret to hyperrealism
A lot of artists when creating a hyper realistic piece, quite often do them extremely large, this allows the artist to capture minute detail easily as it is an enlargement to reality, but when shrunk down will accentuate the detail and look hyperrealistic. That said, unlike the traditional oil paintings of old that you stand back from to see the full beauty and realistic effect, when looking closely at hyperrealistic work it very rarely shows brush or pencil strokes.