One of the artists that I am discussing this marking period for the Awareness section is Kehinde Wiley, an acclaimed contemporary New York artist; although Wiley is by no means obscure, his art is relatively new to me, as I only discovered him recently through the VMFA exhibit this summer. I was utterly amazed: the juxtaposition of photorealistic figurative artwork and portraiture combined with the highly textured and vivid backgrounds of his images show immense skill and display his message on drawing attention to the beauty and uniqueness of the individual, especially people of color who are often underrepresented in classical art; in a way, he is recreating the traditions and practices of the Old Masters. I am in awe of his artwork and desire to emulate not only his technical skill, but his evident passion and drive for creativity and content.
Another artist that I am featuring is Eric Daigh, an artist of whom I was unaware until recent investigations. Eric Daigh, an artist known for his portraits, uses the techniques of photorealist artists: he zooms in on the pixels of each image which he recreates, and from these pixels he creates portraits out of - wait for it - PUSH PINS. From a distance, these works look like blurry, low-definition photographs, and one can only recognize the medium up close. This type of portraiture astonishes me; while I deeply admire photorealistic artists, the level of detail (and the amount of gridding) they utilize in the creation of their artwork would make me highly impatient.
Another artist that I am featuring is Eric Daigh, an artist of whom I was unaware until recent investigations. Eric Daigh, an artist known for his portraits, uses the techniques of photorealist artists: he zooms in on the pixels of each image which he recreates, and from these pixels he creates portraits out of - wait for it - PUSH PINS. From a distance, these works look like blurry, low-definition photographs, and one can only recognize the medium up close. This type of portraiture astonishes me; while I deeply admire photorealistic artists, the level of detail (and the amount of gridding) they utilize in the creation of their artwork would make me highly impatient.