NOVOREALISM: The Realist Revolution

NOVOREALISM: The Realist Revolution

For the past few years a revolution of new realism in art has gained momentum. Now it has a name – NOVOREALISM.

Alexey Steele
Alexey Steele

Coined by Los Angeles based artist Alexey Steele, Novorealism is a rapidly growing cause championed by realists artists who reject 20th century elitist art, believing that realism opens art to all people without relying on interpretation of a small group of critics and scholars.

Novorealism places high value on the craft of making art, many practicing traditional atalier methods of learning, teaching and creating representational art. Novorealists believe that beauty is essential for life and is an the very heart of human existence and those moments when we experience beauty are truly encounters with the divine. (see Roger Scruton’s BBC series  “Why Beauty Matters.”)

On Steele’s blog www.novorealism.com, he explains how Novorealism is the inevitable continuation of civilization-long combined experience, knowledge, and practice in developing humanity’s abilities to perceive and represent the visual world. Steele says “Novorealism is deeply rooted within sanctification of natural world [which is] under all out assault from modern consumerist society. In this way, much like important art movements of the past, it is an early reflection of the shifts in priorities for the society at large.”

Steele make the following observations that define Novorealism:

NOVOREALISM is not revisiting a romantic past but reflects our contemporary reality and is a reaction to:
• 20th century elitist art
• Humanities love affair with technology as a substitute for creativity
• 20th century’s culture of function over the human need for beauty

NOVOREALISM is revolutionary – reversing the status quo of increasingly elitist art
NOVOREALISM is revolutionary – challenging artists to achieve ever higher levels of perception, interpretation and craftsmanship
NOVOREALISM is revolutionary – choosing eternal truths found in beauty over 20th exploitation of utility, ugliness and shock.
NOVOREALISM is democratic in its accessibility and clear interpretation
NOVOREALISM is democratic and universal touching on shared human experiences
NOVOREALISM believes that creating and celebrating beauty is the artist sacred responsibility
NOVOREALISM strives to reach the elusive pinnacles of humanity’s capacity to create

Novorealist artists do not see the movement to be exclusive or superior to other current movements in art. Steele explains, “NOVOREALISM is not striving for totalitarian aesthetic domination as every major /as opposite to local/ Art movement of the past did. Not only do we recognize, but we thrive on the new reality that there is no single, “one and only righteous” aesthetics of the day any longer. This new reality makes our existence possible. We collectively entered an inherently democratic aesthetically multi-polar world. This is the reality that will have to be inevitably realized by any institutional voice claiming credibility in observing objectively the actually occurring, contemporary shifts in today’s ART.

I have fully embraced the cause of Novorealism and hope that you will join me in spreading the word.

Short list of the artists leading the cause of Novorealism:
• Alexey Steele
Jeremy Lipking
Tony Pro
Ignat Ignatov
• Christopher Pugliese
Jacob Collins
Juliette Aristides
Michael Klein
Robert Liberace
Scott Burdick

and many many many more . . .

6 thoughts on “NOVOREALISM: The Realist Revolution

  1. Gezien van de Riet says:

    Congratulations for the initiative! I was always longing for a movement for representational art (and participated in TRAC2014). In Holland it did not come to a movement, although there are a lot of artists in the classical tradition, or worthful activities to promote representational art. We have no power where the decisions are made, no official academies who teach (also) in the classical tradition, (nearly) no attention in the national media, no place in the history of art tought by faculties of art of universities, no place in the great museums, no voice in art-education in official schools, no this, no that… and the contemporary representational art is now practicing about 25-30 years… I welcome the movement!

  2. MCGuilmet says:

    I appreciate the clarification. I didn’t want to assume all of them indeed subscribe to the specific brand and it’s philosophy by reading the inclusion of their name in the list until I hear it from them. I do think your point is clear that all of them, like us, want to see representational art appreciated and embraced in all corners of the global community. Thanks. Great blog btw.

  3. Michael Lynn Adams says:

    The name, Novorealism, was born on March 19, 2010. Because it is so new I do not know of many artists who have self identified themselves as Novorealists.

    I do know that four artists – Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro, Ingnat Ignatov and, of course Alexey Steele – are very strong advocates for the name and would proudly call each other Novorealist. . Alexey identified most of the artists on the list as examples of Novorealism in action. I am not certain that those others call themselves Novorealists, however I am very confident that they would be comfortable with being associated with Novorealism as a cause/movement/philosophy.

    I also know that many of these artists are friends. They are also arguably some of the most influential realists working today. Because of their close friendships, and because mainstream art publications follow these artists closely, I believe that their advocacy and association with Novorealist philosophy offers a good chance, over time, of the term’s adoption by the mainstream art community.

    Who knows if it will stick? I hope it does and I plan to do my best to help it along and hope others will join us.

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