Chalk Drawings with Julian Beever

     We have all played with chalk as kids on the driveway outside of our house. We'd outline our friends bodies or just draw shapes. By the time our "artwork" was completed our hands and knees would be covered in chalk from crawling around on the ground. However our idea of chalk art is pretty pathetic compared to Julian Beever's.
     Beever is an American artist specializing in chalk drawings as well as murals and paintings. His has been creating "trompe-l'oeil" paintings since the years 90's. Trompe-l'oeil is French for "deceiving the eye" which is exactly what Beever's drawings do. In order to see his masterpieces you have to be standing at the correct angle to get the image perfectly or else it just looks distorted chalk drawings. When you do get to the exact position what you see is almost hard to believe. The images he create suddenly turn 3D and look incredibly realistic.
     People have nicknamed the 46 year old as the " Pavement Picasso" due to the originality of his work. His artwork ranges from a Coca Cola bottle to "The Fountain of Youth". Why does he stick to the outside world rather than a studio or art gallery where he knows it won't get ruined by the weather? Beever says that his " art is for anybody" and that it's for the people who wouldn't go into an art gallery. He wants as many people to see it so he creates his work on busy sidewalks or side-streets. Although he knows his artwork will only have a short life span, he likes it that way because then those who do have the opportunity to see it have truly seen something special

Check out this website to see more of his creations: http://hubpages.com/hub/Incredible_Beever

Blek Le Rat

     So who was the founder of street art? None other than Blek Le Rat. His real name is Xavier Prou and was born in 1952 in Paris. Blek is known to be the "Godfather" of urban art starting to put his art in Europe, especially Paris, in the early 80's. He began to just do stencils of rats on the side of buildings, hence his name, claiming that rats were the only free animals and because in "rat" you can find "art". He was inspired by the graffiti he saw in New York City but since Paris and NYC are such different atmospheres, he knew he couldn't just copy the graffiti because it wouldn't reflect the surroundings of his home land.
    He is an inspiration to all street artist but especially Banksy. They have even thought about collaborating their artwork but little is known about their plans. The difference between Banksy and Blek is that Banksy's artwork is painted or made directly on the side of a building while over the years Blek has moved from using the actual buildings as his canvas and has resorted to  making posters. However, Blek depends on what is written on the walls as inspiration for his next piece of artwork. After all, artwork must reflect the state of a city for people to relate to it.
    Blek le Rat will contunue to make himself known as the original stencil pioneer but he is always interested and inspired by other artists and by what he sees on the streets. His art will be forever changing but we can note that he was the first to step out of the realm of "traditional" art and create a new type of urban art.

    

Banksy

     We've all been on them as children while our parents are taking forever in the line at the supermarket. We beg our parents for 25 cents and head outside where the few games and cheap rides are located. However, the above isn't the typical kiddie ride which we are used to riding, you know the red helicopter or pony. This is Banksy's latest work inspired by the BP oil spill that occurred last April. The dolphin is wrapped in a tuna net and crude oil with the "BP"  logo clearly stamped on the oil barrel. Located at Brighton Pier in England, this piece of artwork is still used as an amusement park ride for many children and visitors.
     Not familiar with the artist? Banksy is infamously known for his street art that started off in Bristol, England in the early 90's, ranging from graffiti to stencils. Most of his early art has been covered up or destroyed due to communities declaring his artwork as vandalism, but Banksy's art work is becoming more prevalent and renowned through out the states.
You would think that an artist that is so famous would want to be known. However, he has stayed anonymous for the past 20 years and very few people know who Banksy truly is. This past January at the Sundance FIlm Festival in Utah, Bansky was a prominent character in  Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary dealing with Thierry Guetta's interest in street art. Bansky is present throughout the whole film and is even interviewed but his voice is distorted and his face is hidden to keep his identity unknown.
     Still, known or uknown, Bansky is still able to captivate passer-bys with his art adorning sides of buildings and the ground while expressing his opinion in a witty manner.
Check out his website to see if you can recognize some of his art: http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Urban Art

 For the past few years I have taken a great interest in art. I guess it started when I worked at a French Impressionist art gallery for a few summers up north, but now my interest has shifted to a more modern type of profession. Urban art. So, what is it? For those of you who don't know, urban art is simply a type of art that is created by the city surrounding it's artist. Coming from Detroit, Michigan, I have seen my fair share of urban art especially downtown due to it's current economical situation. Tyree Guyton is best known for his work of "The Heidelberg Project" which reflects the neglected city's cry for help.

      Located just north of the city, Guyton has taken abandon streets and has turned them into works of art on the blocks of Mt. Elliott and Heidelberg. He started in the late 80's being inspired by his Grandpa and has continued his work still today. His houses range from a "Polka Dot" that is covered in colored dots to his "Animal House" which is adorned with stuffed animals from the roof to the ground. However, while many support Tyree for taking rundown streets and livening them up, others are very opposed. They claim that the so called "art" is an eye sore for their neighborhood and want it to be taken down immediately. They claim urban art isn't an expression and therefore cannot be qualified as "art". 

     But what defines art? There are plenty of artists out there just like Guyton who have taken traditional art and made it something of their own. They put just as much thought, creativity, and emotion to their artwork as previous artists have so why isn't it considered equal?