Photographer Mark Preuschl recreates Georges Seurat's famous impressionist painting

VinceInMT · Jul 30, 2023

Mark Preuschl recreated Georges Seurat's famous impressionist painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” in Beloit, WI

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldonliner/albums/72157594185228571

faberryman · Jul 30, 2023

My vote goes to Georges Seurat as having the better of the two images.

MattKing · Jul 30, 2023

I like the Gordie Howe jersey on the visitor to the Gallery.
And I think the photography is fun!

Sirius Glass · Jul 30, 2023

faberryman said:
My vote goes to Georges Seurat as having the better of the two images.

+1!

Pieter12 · Jul 30, 2023

So what is the appeal of that sort of image? The original artist already did all of the heavy lifting.

MattKing · Jul 30, 2023

Pieter12 said:
So what is the appeal of that sort of image? The original artist already did all of the heavy lifting.

Similar appeal to much of Jeff Wall's work - a combination of re-exploration, a modern view of an interesting idea, and a homage.
For example, "A Sudden Gust of Wind After Hokusai":

And its inspiration, Katsushika Hokusai's woodcut "Yejiri Station, Province of Suruga", ca. 1832

Pieter12 · Jul 30, 2023

Inspiration or homage is not quite the same as mindless copying or recreating. The photo is such a slavish copy of the Seurat, and it pales in comparison. For me, it needs to be part of a larger body of work of other recreations to hold water.

Daniela · Jul 30, 2023

Was excited about the idea, but disappointed in the result. I can appreciate the work of finding a good location, rallying up so many people, working with the dog, etc, but the resulting image just lacks interest, romanticism, beautiful tones...

Pieter12 · Jul 30, 2023

Someone should give Guernica a try. Now that might prove interesting.

faberryman · Jul 30, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Inspiration or homage is not quite the same as mindless copying or recreating.

Sometimes the line between them is fuzzy.

Pieter12 · Jul 30, 2023

faberryman said:
Sometimes the line between them is fuzzy.

Or spotty, in this case.

CMoore · Jul 30, 2023

Pieter12 said:
So what is the appeal of that sort of image? The original artist already did all of the heavy lifting.

I have purchased a 280 meter ocean liner and i am meticulously recreating the sinking of the Titanic.
It is gong to be glorious.
Passenger tickets are free

I do not 'get' this either.
I see much more 'genius' in the Warhol, Campbell's soup can than this.

As Joni Mitchell pointed out.............. 'Nobody ever said to van Gogh. paint a Starry Night again, man'

I guess it all comes down to................. We like different things.
I was in high school in the 1970s.
The band Genesis was REAL Big with some of us. I had just seen them tour 'The Lamb' in January of 1975.
We were playing that record at a party a few weeks after the show.
Some of the kids were saying............'What is this weird stuff'
.
They simply could not hear it.
Maybe that is where i am at with this thread.?

MattKing · Jul 30, 2023

The value may be mostly in the doing.
But it is a re-enactment. Its quality is arguable, but that is the case with many historical re-enactments.
For our US members, ever been to a small town Civil War or Wild West re-enactment? Particularly one with cheesy costumes?

Alex Benjamin · Jul 30, 2023

VinceInMT said:
Mark Preuschl recreated Georges Seurat's famous impressionist painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” in Beloit, WI

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldonliner/albums/72157594185228571

If you're going to recreate the most famous pointillist painting, you have to use film with a lot of grain. If not, your recreation is just, well, pointless.

Just sayin.

AnselMortensen · Jul 30, 2023

Hmmm....

Alan Edward Klein · Jul 31, 2023

MattKing said:
The value may be mostly in the doing.
But it is a re-enactment. Its quality is arguable, but that is the case with many historical re-enactments.
For our US members, ever been to a small town Civil War or Wild West re-enactment? Particularly one with cheesy costumes?

There are dozens of reenactment battles throughout the US regarding our Civil War (1861-65) and 1776-1783 War for Independence. Here in central New Jersey is the Battle of Monmouth 1778 reenactment once a year when General Washington engaged the British in one of the largest of the war. The picture shows German Hessian mercenaries discussing the pay they got from their British masters with a couple of local American patriots. To fire them up, the British generals lied to the Germans telling them Americans would torture and kill them if caught. I couldn't figure out why British and Americans would be shooting the same cannon in the video.

bjorke · Jul 31, 2023

This "Seurat" is very "Pageant of the Masters" and feels a bit like Art the same way the Venetian in Las Vegas feels like Italy.

Not so the Jeff Wall, which is fantastic.

The Japanese poet Basho's admonition probably applies here: "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the great sages. Seek what they sought."

faberryman · Jul 31, 2023

I am thinking even the participants in the redo will take their souvenir print off the refrigerator in a couple of months.

Today's fun fact to know and tell is that the Seurat painting is 81 3/4 × 121 1/4 in.

VinceInMT · Jul 31, 2023

Alex Benjamin said:
If you're going to recreate the most famous pointillist painting, you have to use film with a lot of grain. If not, your recreation is just, well, pointless.

Just sayin.

VinceInMT · Jul 31, 2023

MattKing said:
The value may be mostly in the doing.
But it is a re-enactment. Its quality is arguable, but that is the case with many historical re-enactments.
For our US members, ever been to a small town Civil War or Wild West re-enactment? Particularly one with cheesy costumes?

I never understood what the attraction is to get involved in or watch recreations of battles. I have a friend who is into WWII recreations and he plays on the side of the Germans. I live about 50 miles from the Big Horn Battlefield (formerly Custer’s Battlefield) and there is a battle recreation every year on the nearby Crow Reservation. While I’ve been to the battlefield museums and memorials numerous times, going to a recreation has not made it to my bucket list.

Valerie · Jul 31, 2023

I give a "recreation" assignment to my students on occasion. It's not about an accurate restaging of a famous work. It's about paying close attention to what makes the work great: lighting, composition, etc. (I'd include color palette here, but my class is b/w).

Then there's creative thought... if I don't have access to a dragon (https://www.wikiart.org/en/paolo-uccello/st-george-and-the-dragon), or even a horse for that matter, how can I recreate a similar image?

One clever student, whose models backed out of helping her, recreated a saloon shootout scene using cardboard cutouts and skillful lighting.

faberryman · Jul 31, 2023

VinceInMT said:
I never understood what the attraction is to get involved in or watch recreations of battles. I have a friend who is into WWII recreations and he plays on the side of the Germans. I live about 50 miles from the Big Horn Battlefield (formerly Custer’s Battlefield) and there is a battle recreation every year on the nearby Crow Reservation. While I’ve been to the battlefield museums and memorials numerous times, going to a recreation has not made it to my bucket list.

There is a lot of milling around, then a little action, then some more milling around, and then everyone goes home. Only the reenactors get anything out of it, which is fine, except for the spectators who thought perhaps there were was something more to it.

ic-racer · Jul 31, 2023

Needs the pet monkey.

Alan Edward Klein · Jul 31, 2023

bjorke said:
This "Seurat" is very "Pageant of the Masters" and feels a bit like Art the same way the Venetian in Las Vegas feels like Italy.

Not so the Jeff Wall, which is fantastic.

The Japanese poet Basho's admonition probably applies here: "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the great sages. Seek what they sought."

Isn't there a saying that goes something like plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.

MattKing · Jul 31, 2023

faberryman said:
Today's fun fact to know and tell is that the Seurat painting is 81 3/4 × 121 1/4 in.

And Jeff Wall's "A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai)" is 98 x 153.6 in. and backlit - a Cibachrome transparency, made in 1993, owned by the Tate.

Photographer Mark Preuschl recreates Georges Seurat's famous impressionist painting

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