Author: Kurt Wenner
ISBN: 9781402771262
RRP: $29.99
In this technological age I am sure that everyone has seen the sidewalk paintings of Kurt Wenner. He is an artistic genius who can create 3-D illusions in chalk, on pavement that will make you look twice – or three times – to discover if there really is a gaping hole in the sidewalk with any number of different things in it.
Kurt Wenner has had a long and quite varied artistic career and this book concentrates on his time gracing the pavement with the product of his imagination.
The introduction speaks in depth about the history of street painting, it’s beginnings and the places it is popular; talking extensively about the nature of the art form and the lure of it’s impermanence.
For me, there is great attraction in the full colour, eye catching illustrations gracing most of the pages throughout the book. Street painting is transitory at the best of times, and in the cases of rain storms have an even shorter life. The act of creating is the most watched and admired stage of the process and it is the longest. The canvas this art is laid out upon is what makes it impermanent and there is no way to protect it forever. The photographs taken of Wenners works are all that remains and all that spread the word and the knowledge of his work out past those standing around his work as he works. The technological age has spread the word so much further and brought the images of his genius to those of us all over the world that otherwise may never have seen it.
His book brings all of that together – his story, his journey and the pictures of his work to admire from afar. I don’t think that can possibly do justice to the magnificence of the work if I was to see it in person.
Technology has brought me images of Wenners work, right to my inbox, over the years and I never gave it that much thought – past the general Oh My How is that even possible. Now I can sit and follow the journey from the beginning, the beginning of the art form as researched and told to us by Kurt Wenner and the long and acclaimed career of Wenner himself. All the while admiring the photographic reproductions contained within the pages.
Available from all good bookstores.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!