Back in 2004 I was loosing my mind because of the lack of traditional drawing skills being taught in my foundation year at university and I thought it would never get better. Every time I'd take out a knitting needle to measure proportions it was either, "You need to loosen up." or, "What the hell is that?" I even had one instructor tell me that I was going to poke someone's eye out with it! Anyway, things did get better as I was able to choose classes that were figure based as opposed to more existential, post-modernism based classes. I'm starting to realize that there's more hope for students like me.
Today the traditional art scene is getting bigger and bigger. Artists like Jacob Collins, Juliette Aristides, Jeremy Lipking, Anthony Ryder and Sean Cheetham (to name a few) are very popular in the contemporary art world. I believe part of the reason is because a lot of these artists have instructional books out, which is great because there's no shortage of students looking for traditional "how-to" books. And another reason is (even though their technique is traditional) their subject matter and compositions are more contemporary. They're not just doing the commissioned portraits for doctors and lawyers, they're really taking on more relevant subjects.
As the number of successful classical realists increases, there seems to be more ateliers opening up (at least in North America), and schools like the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art and the New York Academy of Art are getting more popular. The atelier model is more sought after. For those who don't know, an atelier (French for "artists' studio) is where you would go to learn classical realism by first doing master copies, then life drawing, cast drawing, cast painting, still-life, and figure painting--all under the watchful eyes of the head instructor and assistant instructors. One of the big problems though is most ateliers are private businesses and therefore not eligible for student loan programs. That makes it difficult for a lot of students but hopefully as more of these schools open up, there will be more grants and loans available.
Looks like making classical realist art isn't as far off an idea as it used to be.
Amen! In my experience I see students thirsting for this kind of education. I am optimistic about the future as many department heads in the university systems are close to or are already retiring. As these artist you mention and new ones emerge into the limelight, it will cause a great resurgence in a more noble art. The danger, however has been that the pendulum may swing too far and their critisism of dry academic, mechanical work will be too common. In my opinion we need a perfect balance of the know how of classical work and the sheer rapture that the more modern stuff claims to have. Thanks for writing this. Cheers
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading it, John. Maybe there's a part two in the works...hmmm. Yes, I think the pendulum will swing too far as it has throughout history and I think the artists who are into following trends tend to really push it to extremes whereas others will just paint what's good for themselves. I guess I should write more about this later.
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