Keep It REAL

The Art Renewal Center bolsters the support and reverence of traditional representational art

- Alyssa M. Tidwell

"There is an inborn awe an innate reverence when one feels they are looking at a real person or object standing before them that is, in truth, nothing but paint and canvas, graphite and paper, or even earthen minerals like clay or bronze transformed, as if by magic, into the real world," says Kara Ross, co-chair and chief operating officer of the Art Renewal Center.

Founded in 1999, the Art Renewal Center (ARC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the advancement and appreciation of representational art as well as the preservation of traditional mediums and techniques.

"By having computer programs do this work," Ross continues, "the fine arts would lose this magic and its intrinsic value, which exists because of the time, skill and personal creativity-in essence the human soul that must go into each and every masterfully created work of traditional art. Humanity has always had an innate desire to tell stories.

Even before recorded history, we know storytelling was used to pass knowledge from one generation to the next. It is a unique characteristic of our species, to tell stories...It is more important than ever that we hold on to this integral part of our humanity." Primarily an educational foundation and hub for visual arts, ARC also houses the largest online museum dedicated solely to realist art, including works by the Old Masters as well as 19th, 20th and 21"-century artists, plus articles, letters and other online resources.