With a background in cognitive psychology, I can’t help but find illusions and other perceptual tricks utterly fascinating. As our modes of sensory input are streamlined for efficiency, this leaves a significant and somewhat shocking margin for error.
Combine that knowledge with the world of art, and you’ve got the increasingly popular trend of forced perspective “anamorphic” street drawings (wherein the image and three-dimensional illusion are only properly visible while viewing the piece from a particular location).
Here are 89 of the world’s most mind-bending 3D chalk drawings, from five key artists in the scene.
1
Julian Beever
Born in 1959, this British artist studied art at Leeds Met. University. He began “anamorphic pavement illustrations” in the early ‘90s as a busker.
This German artist was born in 1968, and taught himself painting as a child (most often painting his rural hometown of Straelen). He started doing street art full-time at the age of 25.
The Ark
25
The Crevasse
26
Lava Burst
27
Waterfall
28
The Tree
29
Tribute to Mount Fuji
30
Energy
31
Energy(wrong view)
32
Emerald Cave
33
Mysterious Cave (in Germany)
34
Duality
35
Where Do I Go
36
Phoenix
37
Tribute to the Elements
38
Eduardo Relero
Currently living and working in Spain, this Argentinian artist was born in 1964. He began painting in Rome in 1990, and currently specializes in figurative pieces with a distinctly surrealist feel.
Salida de emergencia del la modernidad
39
Oraculo Maya
40
Vida de los huevos
41
Gladiator
42
Llotja del mar
43
Untitled, Sarasota Chalk Festival
44
La deriva filosófica
45
Justicia yacente
46
Hortelano
47
Corpus
48
Siempre dentro
49
Grandes chorizos
50
Fusión musical
51
Fusión musical (wrong view)
52
Cross antes de la campana
53
Cross antes de la campana (wrong view)
54
Manfred Stader
German artist Manfred Stader began street painting while studying at the famous Städel Art School in Frankfurt in the early 1980s. Along with Kurt Wenner, he is known for bringing street painting to Old Mission Santa Barbara in 1987.
Untitled, Genussfestival in Bolzano, Italy
55
Untitled, Lodz, Poland
56
Visit Wales
57
Junkers
58
Orange
59
Untitled, Ladbrokes, London
60
Untitled, Hong Kong Illusion of Arts
61
Green Week, Brussels, Belgium
62
Reflection of the Cathedral
63
Astana
64
Untitled, Bern, Switzerland
65
Untitled, Nimue Bioscience, Poland
66
Diablo 3, Gamescon, Cologne, France
67
Untitled, Babushkinsky Park Festival, Moscow
68
Untitled, Babushkinsky Park Festival, Moscow (wrong view)
69
Kurt Wenner
An American artist, Kurt Wenner is heralded as the inventor of “anamorphic” 3D chalk art. He began receiving commissions for murals at the age of sixteen and was making a living off of his art by seventeen. After attending both the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the Art Center College of Design, he was employed by NASA as an advanced scientific illustrator. In 1982, Wenner quit his job at NASA, sold all of his worldly possessions, and moved to Italy to study Renaissance art (where he learned about anamorphism, which he would later employ in his 3D chalk works).
Dies Irae
70
The Flying Carpet
71
The Muses
72
Gluttony
73
The Ghetto
74
The Interrupted Tea Party
75
The Moneypit
76
Aida
77
The Sea Dragon
78
The Giant
79
The Big Lunch
80
Iskandar
81
Scottsdale Neptune
82
Echo and Narcissus
83
Spiderman
84
Cursored Czechs
85
Information Technology
86
Nativity
87
Bonus Art
Tracy Lee Stum (American artist, studied at Tyler School of Art)
