Real Television 1958

Charles Michael Daugherty’s ‘Real Television’ is a print, and in it, marks create form, just like life. See how the marks on the man's shirt are all regimented, like he is, while the woman on the screen is created out of much lighter, softer touches. The whole piece is rendered in a very limited grayscale. The almost photographic quality is interesting; it’s like Daugherty is using the language of realism to talk about something unreal, or at least mediated. It’s like the TV is a window, but we can’t quite touch what’s inside. For me, the man’s hands say so much – poised and expectant. They remind me a little of some of Edward Hopper's characters, caught in a moment of observation, maybe even longing, but unable to break through the screen. There’s a beautiful tension here. Real, but somehow… not. It's a reminder that art, like television, is always playing with what we think is real.