Julian Beever

In my recent updates, my main focus has been three-dimensional chalk art. However, the world of street art is far more diverse than this. There exists a plethora of talented artists and dazzling paintings out there, so this post would probably conclude my venture into the marvelous world of three-dimesional chalk art.

My third and final favorite 3-d pavement chalk artist is a British guy named Julian Beever. An internationally recognized artist, he has done several commission murals and painted around the world. In fact, Beever’s images have been posted and displayed for all the public to see around the Internet. You may recognize some of his pictures from chain emails, websites such as Flickr, Tumblr, and various art journals. [Insert pictures here] In the first post, I listed 2 of the pictures supposedly done by painter Kurt Wenner. However, these are wrongly attributed. The coke and the superman painting were actually created by Julian Beever, one of the masters of modern chalk illusion.

“My art is for everybody,” Beever once commented. The paintings created by Wenner, Muller, Beever, and countless other aspiring 3-d street artists are not hung up to admire in a gallery, or framed and priced. Art like this is not carefully protected and watched over by guards, but rather peered at by pedestrians and left to the mercy of the elements. That might be one of the most rewarding parts of 3-d art: having the ability to create such a stunning illusion that blends into its surroundings and makes people stop and stare in awe.

Personally, I have never actually attempted 3-d chalk art myself. Perhaps someday, I should take out my old box of colored chalk, sit in front of my house, and try to produce some painting like those of the internationally recognized masters of chalk. Perhaps I can learn a bit of illusion, and make my paintings come alive.

Art Festivals

There are many well-known street painters out there, some which I have yet to discuss in these posts. But for now, I shall deviate from investigating these high-profile painters, and rather focus in on the ordinary, aspiring chalk artists who have yet to become famous.

Every year, there are countless street art festivals held around the U.S. The largest is the Lake Worth street painting festival in Florida. Hundreds of artists have attended every year since 1994. Beginning artists with little to no experience in street painting come together with professional artists with many years experience. Roughly 100000 visitors roamed the streets last year and saw these paintings as they were completed over the course of 3 days. This year, it will be held again in February.

Of course, there are also art festivals for the more established artists, such as the Sarasota Chalk Festival, also held in Florida during the first week of November. This is a more high-profile, international festival in which artists from around the world come together for a week to paint their masterpieces on the streets of downtown Sarasota. Last year, in 2010, 250 of the world’s most renowned street artists such as Leon Keer, Tracy Lee Stun, and the ever-talented one and only Edgar Müller participated in the competition.

Whether it be an amateur, public art festival or a professional one, visiting such an event must be a great privilege. I can imagine seeing the street at the beginning, blank grey pavement, then visiting the same place 3 days or a week afterward. The streets would be lined and colored with beautiful art, hand drawn and meticulously colored by both beginners and experts. A festival like this, surrounded by color and other art aficionados, would be an amazing experience.

Anamorphosis

I mentioned in my previous post another street chalk artist called Edgar Müller. He’s a German 3D chalk illusionist painter, inspired by Kurt Wenner in his artworks. They both use the same “anamorphosis” technique in their art. This type of geometric technique when viewed from different viewpoints, can make a painting seem three dimensional on flat ground. Wenner revolutionized this idea by using it in sidewalk chalk art, Müller is a internationally recognized master in this technique, but by no means were they the first ones to use something like this. In fact, some of the earliest examples of anamorphosis came from none other than the famous Leonardo da Vinci himself. 

It comes alive, doesn’t it? Vivid colors, beautiful design, and of course the brilliantly ingenious geometric design makes this fresco seem otherworldly, especially in a time when there was no computer graphic designing or complicated technologies. Only paint, a bare ceiling, and the mind of the likes of da Vinci.

Back to the present day. One of my favorite pieces of 3-d chalk art is made by Müller: his famous “crevasse” painting. He did it over the span of 3 days back in December 2008 for a Festival of World Culture. He posted some videos on Youtube of the production of this: 

The finished product, is, once again amazing. When a person stands on one of the ice blocks seemingly floating in the abyss, they seem like they are about to fall right into the dark crevasse below. Something created by mere chalk can come alive with the hand of an artist. And that’s what anamorphosis is all about. Making something that is originally 2-d and flat come alive through geometry and colors. Breathing life into a still painting.

Kurt Wenner

On long, hot summer days in my childhood, sidewalk chalk art has always been a favorite pastime of mine. As a 5-year-old, though I myself never had the patience and skill to sit down in front of my house with a box of chalk and finish a picture worth looking at. But sidewalk art is definitely not only a kid’s activity.
Take a look at these:

These are all by professional street artist Kurt Wenner, the guy who is often heralded as the pioneer of 3d street art. Modern 3d pavement artists such as Julian Beever, Edgar Mueller, among others drew inspiration from him and his original artwork in the 1980’s.

That’s right. 1980’s. 3-d paintings on sidewalks is a fairly new form of art. Since then, Wenner’s artwork has been featured by National Geographic, commissioned by Pope John Paul II, and displayed in the National Museum of Singapore. The pictures above display some of his recent works.

Wenner is not only an artist, but also a skilled architect in the pioneering field of 3d art and architecture. All of the paintings above are on completely flat sidewalk, yet the geometric construction makes it look unnervingly three-dimensional.
I have never actually seen this in person, but I can imagine walking along the sidewalk and seeing something like this. You know it's completely safe. There is nothing more than a mere illusion to trick your mind and eyes, yet if you were given the chance, instinct tells you it would not be safe to dive into the busy street below or the yellow abyss of the monsters.
It is utterly amazing the art some people can create with some simple chalk, pavement, and a skillful hand.