Does “Photographic Realism” really exist?

[Heroique]

Some of you may remember David Hockney’s take on the subject: “Most people feel that the world looks like the photograph. I’ve always assumed that the photograph is nearly right, but that little bit by which it misses makes it miss by a mile. This is what I grope at.”

Below is “A Bigger Splash” by David Hockney (acrylic on canvas, 1967).

I’m curious if he thinks it looks like “the world” – or also misses by a mile.

Psychologically, does it look like “the world”?

When it comes to “realism,” maybe painting has photography beat on several accounts.

[Mike Anderson]

...
Psychologically, does it look like “the world”?
...

Hmmm, I look at that and my first impression is that there's something missing. The diving board should have residual motion. Doesn't look like the world as reconstructed by my memories of people jumping off diving boards.

[E. von Hoegh]

Hmmm, I look at that and my first impression is that there's something missing. The diving board should have residual motion. Doesn't look like the world as reconstructed by my memories of people jumping off diving boards.

+1 on something missing.
The splash is all wrong, too. It looks like a painting that was "composed" by projecting a slide onto a canvas, tracing it, then filling it in with paint.