hyperrealist
Beyond photographic precision
A hyperrealist creates art—typically painting or sculpture—that mimics photography in its extreme precision and detail.
The term emerged in the 1970s for artists who rendered subjects with such exactness that viewers might mistake the work for a photograph: The hyperrealists captured every pore and wrinkle.
The word also describes anyone committed to depicting reality with obsessive fidelity.
Art mimicking three dimensions
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- lifelikeResembling the real thing
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
- indistinguishableImpossible to tell apart
verisimilitude · convincing · realistic · believable · startling · double-take · mimesis · facsimile
Accuracy of measurement
- detailSingle small element
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
- painstakingExtremely careful and thorough
- fine-tunedPrecisely calibrated for optimal results
intricate · exacting · layering · glazing · projection · magnification · rendering · perfectionist
Body's outer layer
- poresMinute dermal openings
- wrinklesSurface lines from folding
- fabricWoven or knit material
- chromeReflective metal coating
glass · reflections · storefronts · automobiles · nude · portrait · mundane · banal
Art imitating camera accuracy
- superrealismArt exceeding photographic detail
- neorealismArt emphasizing contemporary actuality
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- 1970sFourth decade, twentieth century
American · European · manifesto · avant-garde · representational
One who applies pigment
- sculptorArtist shaping solid materials
- portraitistPainter of people
- canvasHeavy woven cloth
- acrylicSynthetic resin or fiber
airbrush · brushwork · figurative · still-life · gallery · exhibition · commission · studio
Image from a camera
- cameraImage capturing device
- lensLight-focusing curved glass
- high-resolutionShowing minute visual detail
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
enlargement · cropping · snapshot · lighting · reflection · texture · surface · glossy
Insubstantial likenesses or copies
- BaudrillardPhilosopher of simulated reality
- simulationImitation of real processes
- reproductionCopying or procreation
- copyIdentical reproduction made
authenticity · artificial · mediated · representation · reality · postmodern · construct · semblance
trompe-l'oeil
Art mimicking three dimensions
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- lifelikeResembling the real thing
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
indistinguishable · verisimilitude · convincing · realistic · believable · startling · double-take · mimesis · facsimile
precision
Accuracy of measurement
- detailSingle small element
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
- painstakingExtremely careful and thorough
fine-tuned · intricate · exacting · layering · glazing · projection · magnification · rendering · perfectionist · fastidious
skin
Body's outer layer
chrome · glass · reflections · storefronts · automobiles · nude · portrait · mundane · banal · commercial
photorealism
Art imitating camera accuracy
- superrealismArt exceeding photographic detail
- neorealismArt emphasizing contemporary actuality
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
1970s · American · European · manifesto · avant-garde · representational
painter
One who applies pigment
- sculptorArtist shaping solid materials
- portraitistPainter of people
- canvasHeavy woven cloth
acrylic · airbrush · brushwork · figurative · still-life · gallery · exhibition · commission · studio · technique
photograph
Image from a camera
- cameraImage capturing device
- lensLight-focusing curved glass
- high-resolutionShowing minute visual detail
composition · enlargement · cropping · snapshot · lighting · reflection · texture · surface · glossy · matte
simulacra
Insubstantial likenesses or copies
- BaudrillardPhilosopher of simulated reality
- simulationImitation of real processes
- reproductionCopying or procreation
copy · authenticity · artificial · mediated · representation · reality · postmodern · construct · semblance · hyperreal
hyperrealistimpressionist
Performer copying famous voices
impressionistic · expressionist · loose · gestural · sketchy
hyperrealistabstract
Condensed version of text
abstractionist · non-representational · non-figurative · non-objective · minimalist
hyperrealistexpressionist
One who conveys through art
primitivist · surrealist · romantic · visionary · subjectivist