Biography Chuck Close was born on July 5, 1940 in Monroe Washington and is the son of artistic parents who supported Chuck’s early creative interests. Close was diagnosed and was suffering from extreme dyslexia which caused him to do poorly in school but found peace in making art. He was not a popular student while in school and he developed more problems which was caused by a neuromuscular condition which limited his ability to play athletics. Close eventually enrolled at the University of Washington, graduating in 1962 and immediately heading east to Yale to study for a Master of Fine Arts from the university's Art and Architecture School. After earning his MFA from Yale in 1964, Close took his place atop the American art world by creating
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Chuck Close had grown up against the backdrop of abstract expressionism which was the first major art movement to come out of America. Like many artists he explored the established almost a visual language of the day which he put into his work but eventually rejected in his search for a personal style. In a dramatic sense from abstract to figurative painting he broke away from the freedom of Abstract Expressionism in favor of more restrictive controls on both his subject matter and painting ways. He began to work on large scale monochrome portraits in a Photorealist like style even though the term had not yet been invented. "I don't want the viewer to see the whole head at once and assume that that's the most important aspect of my painting" (Chuck Close)
Influences
Close was in a challenging environment at Yale that had put him in competition with a wide array of talented classmates like Nancy Graves, Brice Marden and Robert Mangold. Jack Tworkov a teacher that supported close and supported the teaching of contemporary art movements in as well as to the standard focus on Abstract Expressionism. This revised curriculum has definitely proved to be a major influence on Close's later work. (Chuck Close Biography) …show more content…
This past March I had the opportunity to view Chuck Close’s work up and personal at that Walker Art Musuem while they had his exhibit. After learning about his medical conditions his works make so much more sense in the way that he goes about doing things and his processes. I think that his work is phenomenal and his attention to detail is beyond describable. His paintings blur the line between a photograph and an actual painting. Close made the choices that he did mostly because of his medical condition and his background growing up. As I have been saying this whole semester, everyone is just product of their circumstances and Close makes his creations based on his reactions to his circumstances. He is definitely the leader of the photorealist
Chuck Close had grown up against the backdrop of abstract expressionism which was the first major art movement to come out of America. Like many artists he explored the established almost a visual language of the day which he put into his work but eventually rejected in his search for a personal style. In a dramatic sense from abstract to figurative painting he broke away from the freedom of Abstract Expressionism in favor of more restrictive controls on both his subject matter and painting ways. He began to work on large scale monochrome portraits in a Photorealist like style even though the term had not yet been invented. "I don't want the viewer to see the whole head at once and assume that that's the most important aspect of my painting" (Chuck Close)
Influences
Close was in a challenging environment at Yale that had put him in competition with a wide array of talented classmates like Nancy Graves, Brice Marden and Robert Mangold. Jack Tworkov a teacher that supported close and supported the teaching of contemporary art movements in as well as to the standard focus on Abstract Expressionism. This revised curriculum has definitely proved to be a major influence on Close's later work. (Chuck Close Biography) …show more content…
This past March I had the opportunity to view Chuck Close’s work up and personal at that Walker Art Musuem while they had his exhibit. After learning about his medical conditions his works make so much more sense in the way that he goes about doing things and his processes. I think that his work is phenomenal and his attention to detail is beyond describable. His paintings blur the line between a photograph and an actual painting. Close made the choices that he did mostly because of his medical condition and his background growing up. As I have been saying this whole semester, everyone is just product of their circumstances and Close makes his creations based on his reactions to his circumstances. He is definitely the leader of the photorealist