Spanish bull leapers

In the name of entertainment and adrenalin, Spain’s bull leapers, known as “recortadores”, continue an ancient tradition that can be traced back to 1500 BC, during King Minos’ reign.

Teams of 5 to 7 bull leapers gather each year in cities like Valencia or Barcelona, to take part in a performance that many compare to the Russian roulette. Each team may face up to three bulls in the ring, at once, taunting and jumping over them just when the beats prepare to impale them.

The bull leapers all look calm and brave, but they don’t hesitate to run for their lives after a successful jump or evasion, to stay well clear of the angry bulls. The atmosphere in the bullfighting arena is said to be exhilarating, with the crown cheering every successful trick.

Sure some may call these death-defying artists insane, but I have a lot more respect for them than I do for bullfighters. At least bull leaping doesn’t get the bull killed in a violent way. sadly it can’t quench the Spanish thirst for bull-fighting blood.

Cool pic

Artists that produce photorealistic sculptures, for the most part, aim to show us our bodies and life as it really is.

Technically, artists who strive for a high resolution level of detail in painting or sculpture are called “hyperrealists”, although all hyperrealists are also considered to be photorealists.

Every detail is slavishly recreated as close to the real life model as possible, even if the sculpture is larger than the original scale.

Photorealistic sculptors create truly amazing sculptures that will make you feel wonder, revulsion and the sense of looking in someone else’s mirror.

In this post we feature sculptors Ron Mueck, Evan Penny, Jamie Salmon, Duane Hanson, Sam Jinks and Adam Beane who produce sculpture that seems alive in every detail, right down to veins and rashes on skin. This compilation should give you a cross section of modern photorealistic sculpture.

Evan Penny
Age spots, wrinkles, and every detail of a face are featured in the work of Toronto artist Evan Penny.

He generally produces head-and-shoulders busts larger than life size, and implants each hair one strand at a time while creating his sculptures.

Like Mueck, Penny has an extensive background in special effects for film, and his effects have been featured in X-Men and Johnny Mnemonic.

























Ron Mueck
Ron Mueck is one of the premier names in the photorealistic sculpture field. He used some of his talent to create visual effects for the 1986 movie Labyrinth.

After that he opened up a studio to produce visual effects for the advertising industry, which he was successful at for some time. In 1996 he transitioned completely into fine art, devoting all of his time to photorealistic sculpture.

He is best known for faithfully reproducing all aspects of the human body in either a larger or smaller than life scale. His work has been featured in art galleries all over the world, including the Tate in London.