Illusion of illusion, the image of the image

The 20th century artistic activity means a number of attempts to achieve art desemantisation, to go away from an object tending towards abstraction. It is also inclined to discredit realistic tendencies as the manifestations of ‘compulsive imitation’. Since the mid-50s of the previous century, however, being a reaction to the character of the contemporary civilisation and following the experience of the mass culture, there have been trends within which the objective reality became the fundamental material for the artistic activity again.

One of these movements was New Realism, Photorealism also called Super Realism or last but not least Hyperrealism. The representatives of Hyperrealism and their works contributed to the significant discourse in art concerning its approach to reality, relations between varied media, e.g. painting and photography, between the object and the viewer. On the American ground Hyperrealism became one of the tools for contestation, an expression of a profound social-critical attitude, which unmasked dehumanistic character of the post-war consumerism.

40 years ago Andrzej A. Sadowski’s paintings – both technically and thematically similar to the American ones – which appeared on the Polish artistic scene could not have been a manifestation of the same critical approach towards commercialised pleasure. On the contrary, for those who saw them they were a reflection of dreams about welfare, the reality full of beauty, peace and freedom.

From my personal perspective, supposedly, the paintings of the artist from Łódź are in a way a form of artistic expression to fulfil the most hidden desires – once youthful and today masculine – to possess beautiful objects, sometimes beyond reach, to make dreams about unusual and exotic experiences come true.

From the historical-cultural point of view, Andrzej A. Sadowski’s painting is to some extent a continuation of the romantic paradigm present in Polish art. In a universal approach, it is also a message concerning the character of our modern civilisation and culture. Today we also share the pursuit of welfare, the will to achieve significance and social status.

At present, even more than in the past, Andrzej A. Sadowski’s painting is concerned with the essential cultural issue regarding the relations between the reality and its illusion. We live at the time of virtual and simulated reality. The contemporary times intensify visibility to such such a degree that the reality often seems to be merely illusion and the illusion frequently stands for reality.

We are often eager to be satisfied with the imitation of real world, as in our mind it is more and more difficult to tell the difference between what is realistic and its representation. Along with the development of media, different systems of signs, the boundary between the real world and its representation gradually disappears.

We tend towards hyperreality. It does not mean that the reality does not exist. However, it is impossible to reach it without mediation of simulacra. In this way the difference between the image of an object and the object itself becomes obscure. Artists show us another reality which they try to scrutinise and leave for us for further reflection.

Andrzej A. Sadowski could create fiction and make it authentic by intensified realism of representation. Nevertheless, we obviously feel that he shares his own personal experience with us. The frames are unique; even when we recognize a location or an object (e.g. from other media: postcards, guidebooks) we are struck by another more private interpretation. What we can observe is the point of view of an intrigued wanderer – the author himself. It is as important as what we can see.

Andrzej A. Sadowski’s works express the will to reflect the true meaning (and not just the image) of the existing thing. As though it was an attempt to bequeath the full knowledge of the object which was not seen by someone else or not experienced at a given moment, in a split second, in a particular light, exceptional atmosphere and mood. If we just talked about it, we would be disappointed, as nobody would be able to find themselves in that reality, even for a while. Even photography would not work here.

Certainly, the artist uses a camera. He chooses it not because he believes in the eternal presence rendered in photos – in a split second it turns out to be the past. The belief that a photograph is at least an exact reflection of reality is also make-believe – even considering technical and technological conditioning. The photograph is necessary to record in detail one of continually changing situations, so that it could eventually be painted.

The painting Andrzej A. Sadowski and other artists representing a similar approach are concerned with outperforms photography. It is obvious in the context of experiencing time, the relation between what was in the past and what is going on. A split second of the camera shutter is nothing when compared with hours spent by the artist in front of his canvas; the peculiar atmosphere of pictures painted from photos is closer to the way eternity is perceived than sharing the belief in apparent permanence of objects preserved in the photo.

The paintings are superrealistic; we recognise perfectly well the elements of reality which seem to us tangible.

We can see that the work of art was created with craftsmanship similar to skills of the Renaissance and Baroque painters (who nota bene, as it is quite commonly stated nowadays, were also eager to use sophisticated optical devices). The author does not compete with photography, he just paints from it. Moreover, he seems to do everything to make us remember all the time that painting is not photography. Andrzej A. Sadowski does not create the image of the object but he depicts its representation; he paints the photograph.

In this way his artwork crosses the boundary of realism which our perception is used to. His painting emits special aura, some kind of superstructure which evokes some additional emotions, different from the mere satisfaction coming from perfect imitation.

In case of numerous hyperrealistic paintings there was a feeling of certain artificiality. Static composition and eliminating any probability, exceptional precision of imitation, expressiveness and sharpness of objects, and simultaneous simplification of colours, their metallic and glittering character brought to the viewer’s mind the feeling of otherness and distance. They were the source of critical or analytic approach to the presented reality.

The artist’s works certainly convey some features of hyperrealistic convention, the represented objects are also subject to certain alienation, they conceal some secret. However, the artist does not portray the reality as unpleasant. He simply introduces to us a fragment of the world which he observed and experienced at the moment of direct encounter. He shows us things that are most ‘moving’, those which delighted, astonished or moved him at a certain moment. We perceive the warmth of the author’s emotions, his fascination and positive energy that is generated by the image. In a way the artist breaks with anti-emotionalism and anti-subjectivism of the formation he originates from.

The components of the portrayed reality are slightly modified and relativized. For example, the artist incorporates new motives into the observed landscape, or he rearranges them for the sake of the composition. Nevertheless, everything deserves painting; it is enough if it arouses our interest for some reasons.

Views of cities and towns, scenes of common life. Objects photographed and painted by Andrzej A. Sadowski are often just banal attributes of the reality. Objects and situations do not have to be commonly regarded as beautiful but they are captured in conditions that endow them with some splendour. Let us have a look at the sleek bodies of cars, mirror surfaces of chrome accessories of motorcycles, window displays reflecting the surroundings. It is the reality which is extremely colourful and splendid.

However, beside the impressive Roman domes of temples, the paintings also show layers of plaster flaking off the walls of old Venetian houses, next to some luxurious limousines – the unattractive ‘still life’, an assemblage of cheap junk. Yet even they are beautiful in their own specific manner. The charm of the depicted objects is achieved both when the artist emphasises their perfection, but also when he notices their imperfection and mediocrity. In the process of reproduction they gain some values which make us think about their real even though temporary virtues.

In the process of perception of his works associations with man are usually indirect. It sometimes happens that the man appears as an element of the portrait scenery. More often he is only the author of architectural masterpieces standing in the background, the invisible owner of the mechanical ‘object of desire’, the agent in the process of objects’ wear and tear, a passer-by who had just escaped from the frame. On the other hand, it is natural that the man penetrates the tissue of works exposing the motif of exotics, he becomes its inherent component. Due to his presence it is easier for us to perceive the hustle and bustle of Arabian streets, the picturesque character of eastern markets. The reportage factor of this visual account is more emphasised.

The fact that at the time of great technological achievements – including the reproductive ones – the artist selects the traditional and time - and labour-consuming means of expression is very significant. It evokes a kind of anxiety, we feel dissonance facing a painting that resembles a photo and at the same time is not intended to be one. We can say that the artist makes his job harder, that it would be enough to present a photo show in order to reach the goals set by the artist.

Andrzej A. Sadowski’s painting manner lets us see that the artwork is not based merely on pure duplication of the reality, that the painting issues are still there. It will also become clear why – unlike in case of many American and western Hyperrealists – his works do not avoid traditional representations. It is clearly visible in composition, in references to some painting genres, iconographic types, motives, and sometimes even some concrete works of art.

In the Baroque Spain Francisco de Zurbarán painted compositions consisting of selected, unique, alluring objects. For him they were the embodiment of spiritual values, they were a testimony to God’s perfection. The 17th century Dutch still lifes present an array of beautiful, captivating objects. In the polished, silver and tin vessels, in crystal, fragile glasses we can see the reflection of the part of reality which is not visible in the frame of the picture.

In the 20th century pop art raised everyday objects to the rank of icons and fetishes. The painters of the New Realism endowed them with special character. If Pieter Claesz had lived today, he would not have painted crystal glasses or luxurious plates but rather gleaming colourful bodies of cars and lucid chromes of motorcycles.


Dariusz Leśnikowski

Translated by Elżbieta Rodzeń-Leśnikowska