What contributions did Photorealism or Super realism have on the art world?
Just as Pop Art was a reaction to the dominant style of the time (Abstract Expressionism) then the Photorealists were reacting to the two main movements of the late 1960s and early 70s which were Minimalism and Conceptualism. Both these styles were highly theory based and gave the viewer little to look at. Photorealism re-introduced the image to painting when the general trend was towards extremes of abstraction or no painting at all. They valued the use of crafts and techniques that had largely been abandoned over the preceding decades and this led to a resurgence of painting and figuration as important aspects of serious contemporary art.
