Down On The Street

The title of this blog comes from a song on Rage Against the Machine's album Renegades which was produced in 2000. The song title works well with this post because I have been inspired by a conversation about illusions. I like to consider myself an "artsy" person, but just when I thought I was good at something, I saw something that made me consider going back to art school.

The discussion began with a website that tells you which side of your brain you use more. I would link it, but I don't remember the Web site. So after seeing the test, I thought about the types of illusions I used to enjoy when I was younger. The "young or old woman" example came to mind; I would put the image in, but I want to save space for the better examples.

So I was looking online for illusions and there was an image of a sidewalk painter who creates visual illusions, some of which I have to show you:

In these examples the artist has placed himself in the image, more specifically with the one on the right. I like also how he has created an edge on the concrete, making it look like this is going on below the pavement. For the "Batman and Robin" art, I love how he used the wall to be a part of his artwork, as a window sill outside of the burning building. In the above image he also impressed me by using the stairs as part of his waterfall. It just shows that a lot more went into this are than the idea and time.

Sidewalk art has always been an amazing sight to see in person, but never have I ever seen anything this extreme or well thought out. In these samples you can see that more has gone into the art than the thought. The placement and incorporation of the surroundings is awesome. So these images have made me a little more interested in picking up my sketch pad again. Seeing something like this on the street would just make me stare in awe for hours.

I really like this one with the sailboat. You can see the reflection of the surrounding buildings in the water. Absolutely amazing. Everything about this one is just great, I was mainly drawn in by the way he makes the ground look like it moves into a sinkhole where the water has gathered. I can't say enough about how much I like this type of art.