The world is an illusory place, we live for the main part in a mish-mash of 2 and 3 dimensions, flitting between our so-called reality and the flattened hyperealism of the television, cellphone and PC screen displays of our busy day-to-day experience of the 21st Century. I for one have very little depth perception, it’s something that has been extenuated by the heavy use of powerful psycho-actives in my late-teens and early-twenties. Some say it’s merely a chemical aberration, others proof that the third dimension is nothing more than a nurtured conjecture, a mass hallucination of reflected light and conceptual compromise. Who knows, all I know is that on the few occasions I tried to take to the road I have ended up slamming into the back of a truck at high speed. I have no judgement for stopping distances, and the more tired I feel the flatter reality becomes for me, it is indeed a patchwork quilt, a mesmerist’s collage for this particular individual.

Anyway the point is I can get all the help I can get when it comes to the 3rd dimension and perhaps a little for the 4th too, I mean if you’re of the camp that believes time is a dimension, funny that, how much of science relies on a belief system, ah well that’s for another post I suppose. What always grabbed my attention when I was first starting out in the world of art (and design) was illusion, trompe l’oeil if you want to get technical aka a "trick of the eye". I used to know an old hippy called Ken, he’d spend most summers hiking and chalking the streets, he’d mainly stick to ghastly hippy fodder, dragons and the like, I couldn’t stand his work but I never had the heart to tell him, although he’d regularly tell me my work was awful, although I suspect if I’d doodle a few faeries and wizards I could have put a stop to that kind of banter.

To cut a long story short, some years after we lost touch with Ken, I and Christina, the only woman who can handle my ups and downs on this planet, finally bumped into the guy, doing his thing in Bristol, chalking the pavements as usual. What’s worse he was still drawing dragons and knights and fairytale castles, it was honestly a little embarassing standing there as people smirked at his work. What made it worse still was the fact that a guy a few feet along was an absolute master of perspective, he was actually disorientating passers-by he was that good. There was a set of stairs that led down to a dungeon of some sort, a bin overflowing with empty polystyrene burger boxes and cups, and a tramp asleep by the foot of a public bench.

Here’s a few the greatest examples of this ilk, street art works that are guaranteed to trick the eye, the body, the mind and in some cases the soul if you’re that way inclined.

3D Chalk Art

Julian Beever is one of the most famous and respected UK and Worldwide 3D chalk artists (I’m sure this was the guy I saw way back when) and you can see why with these…

This  Make Poverty History drawing was requested by Live8 to support the pressure campaign on the G8 in Edinburgh. It was done in Edinburgh City Centre. 

Batman and Robin by Julian Beever.

The illusion of the Politicians Meeting Their End was drawn outside The Bank of England and was commissioned by Channel 4′s Midnight Special for the night of the 1997 General Election.

Beneath every street.

Time Square in Time Square.

Meeting Madame Butterfly. This drawing in Mexico City was the subject of Episode 9 of the Gallery HD television series  Concrete Canvas shown in the USA. 

Boat by Beever

Coke Bottle by Beever.

Sony Vaio by Beever

 See more of Beever’s pavement art here.

Cocito from the Chalk It Up Festival in Pasadena, CA by Kurt Wenner – http://www.kurtwenner.com/biography.htm

Muses in Lucern, Switzerland by Kurt Wenner

For more great 3d chalk art check out these links:

Google images 3D Chalk
Flickr 3D Chalk
European Street Painting (Worldwide Chalk/Street Art).

3D Murals

3D mural art has always been a big favourite with the public and commissioning bodies such as construction and retail companies and local town planners who want to cover up a rundown area or a local eyesore. A lot of the work is by unknown artists, or rather artists of local fame, I’d love some more background information on the creators of these fine examples of 3D Muralist art.

Some great 3D Mural links -

http://weburbanist.com/2007/10/10/3d-architectural-illusions-amazing-paintings-murals-and-mosaics/ http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/04/cool-murals-and-painted-buildings.html
3D Murals @ Flickr
3D Murals @ Google Images
 

This post is tagged 3d chalk, 3d chalk art, 3d graffiti, 3d murals, 3d street art, illusions, trompe l'oeil