The power of perspective

A friend sent me a collect of pictures from sidewalk artist Julian Beever. I think his art is nothing short of amazing. It's just a shame that it is so temporary. There probably aren't too many art galleries which could host a show of his. It becomes even more problematic when you realize that the art is best seen from a specific viewing location. A few inches one way or another and the picture gets all messed up.

Looks like the real thing, doesn't it?



I couldn't understand why so many are just walking by and then realized that 1) it takes a long time to do these paintings so people can't stay there the whole time; and 2) from any point other than the camera, the picture just isn't going to look as interesting.

It looks like people are avoiding the hole in the sidewalk but they're just as likely to be avoiding the chalk/paint that Julian is using.


Can you tell which man is real? Which bottle?

What does a treasure hunter do when his metal detector indicates something smack in the middle of the road?




Looks like he's really up to his knees in the hole, doesn't it?

The artist appears ready to join the young lady in the pool but...


... the pool doesn't look so refreshing from the wrong perspective.


Sometimes the right viewing spot isn't even enough. You have to look at the picture upside down. That is really disorienting.


Here's a good model of the earth with the artist standing on top of it...

... and the view from the side.

Finally, a couple of dramatic rescues by superheroes.



Remember Julian Beever. You can see more at his web site: http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/index.html