Subject: Painted statues

From Sidney Cammeresi

Excerpting Tom Bowden:

> I read somewhere that Greek and Roman sculptors
> in the classical age routinely painted their works in
> realistic colors.
>
> But as sculptors in the Renaissance and afterward
> rediscovered, reacquired, and expanded upon the
> skills and vision of their ancient brethren, they did
> not choose to revive the art of painting their works.
> Why?

I am a amateur photographer, and while photography is not an art, I
think I can add some insight into this issue.

One of the primary tasks of both artists and photographers is that of
selection. They look at reality, choose what elements from it they
wish to represent in their artwork or photograph, and respectively
recreate or record those aspects of reality which are essential to
what they desire to convey, omitting any that are nonessential. An
artist can do this literally; a photographer does this to the extent
possible given the nature of his craft.

Color is an attribute of entities in reality like any other, and one of
the first decisions a photographer must make is whether to record in
color or in black-and-white. I usually choose the latter, as often the
particular colors I am photographing are nonessential, and to record
in color in such a case would smack of naturalism. In my view,
color photography should be reserved for instances where the colors
are significant in some way.

To concretize, I'll reference two of my own photographs.

http://www.cheesecake.org/sac/photo/2003/valwedding/images/0002-2.jpg

This black-and-white photograph is from my sister's wedding
reception. The people were normal attendees, and the essence of the
photograph is the people's action and liveliness. Had I made this in
color, the colors would have been distracting.

http://www.cheesecake.org/sac/images/fireworks/fireworks4-s.jpg

I made this photograph in color at a Fourth of July fireworks
display. Here the color is essential. The excitement this photograph
conveys is through the warm reds and oranges, their glow against
the sky, and their contrast against the black and few bits of blue. In
black-and-white, this photograph would be cold streaks across the
sky as if made by stars or a comet.

If the Greeks painted their sculptures, but no one does any more, it
seems to me that someone along the way decided that the colors
applied to the sculptures were nonessential and either didn't lend
anything aesthetically to the art, or worse, detracted from it.

--
Copyright 2003 Sidney Cammeresi.  All rights reserved.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.