Asphalt Renaissance: The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions of Kurt Wenner

by B Hansen, Kurt Wenner (Illustrator), M Hospodar

Overview

"Making a street painting is a lot like constructing a sand castle: while working on one part, another part is eroding... Street painting is a constant reminder that art is about process rather than product." -- Kurt Wenner
 
Asphalt Renaissance brilliantly recounts the re-imagining of street painting by innovative artist and Internet sensation Kurt Wenner. Wenner revolutionized this ancient art by creating a technique that produces astounding images in 3-D--images that reach out of the pavement toward the viewer and appear perilously deep.

Featuring photographs of hundreds of his paintings, this volume spans Wenner's career and captures his thoughts on art and the ephemeral nature of his work.
 

Includes a free poster!
 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402771262
Publisher:	Sterling Signature
Publication date:	08/02/2011
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

Kurt Wenner worked for NASA as an advanced scientific space illustrator, but left to pursue his love of classical art. In Rome, he began creating street paintings to finance his travels and study; within a few years, he had won several gold medals in European competitions. In 1985, Wenner was the subject of a National Geographic documentary called Masterpieces in Chalk. He has received the Kennedy Center Medallion in recognition of his outstanding contribution to arts education.

Editorial Reviews

Throughout the ages there have been spectacles of temporary art, in which entire cities were transformed with triumphal arches, obelisks, fountains, newly painted buildings, and trompe l'oeil walls. During these celebrations, street painters worked in chalk, sawdust, colored glass, birdseed, sand, and even flowers, producing temporary works which only lasted for the duration of the festival. The annual competition at Grazie de Curtatone, near Mantua, which has become the home of pavement art, is where the Santa Barbara-born, classically trained Wenner discovered his calling. In 1982, Wenner first discovered street painting when he arrived in Italy to expand his studies. Here, he relates the story of how he developed into the world's best-known pavement artist, adopting a non-linear perspective into his art. Employing techniques once used in cathedrals and palaces, his pictures make you feel as if you're falling into them. These anamorphic pictures have changed the world of street painting and expanded its reach from small towns in Italy to cities from Japan to the U.S. Extensive illustrations of his work will lead readers to marvel, and perhaps seek out one of the exhibitions or competitions now found across the globe. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Asphalt Renaissance is an art book, with startling color photos of the work in situ, often with observers standing around providing context. But it is also a process book.
—The New York Times Book Review

Steven Heller