(Wenner’s “Dies Irae”)
At one
time or another we have all been amazed by those fascinating 3D paintings seen
on sidewalks and then posted on the internet for all to view. Whether it’s the
kind of art you like or not, it’s absolutely enthralling.
On local
turf we have only ever enjoyed them from afar, but now Kurt Wenner, the
inventor of the captivating artworks – called 3D interactive pavement art, is
coming to South Africa to entertain us with his talents as part of the Hyundai Veloster
launch campaign, starting in March 2013.
In fact,
this world master three-dimensional illusionist artist has been using his
amazing techniques with campaigns across the globe for some time now, and has
been responsible for creating massive hype in real time as well as on the
virtual platform. His art works have assisted in driving millions of potential
customers to web sites and encouraging viral tidal waves on the internet – his
paintings created the first ever visual art viral storm on the internet.
With an
international following, Wenner is best known as the founding father of 3D
pavement art and has inspired other artists to take up the same technique. He
was commissioned to produce his first art work, a mural, at the age of 16. Soon
after, he was earning a living as a graphic artist. He attended both Rhode
Island School of Design and Art Centre College of Design in the United States,
before working for NASA, where he was an advanced scientific illustrator,
creating conceptual paintings of future space projects and extra-terrestrial
landscapes.
In 1982
he left NASA, sold all of his belongings and moved to Italy to study figurative
drawing and art. Wenner lived a stone's throw from the Pantheon in the heart of
Rome, where he studied the drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the old
masters in Rome's best known museums. Over the years his work became known
throughout the country and in 1991 he was commissioned to create a piece to honour
the visit of Pope John Paul II to the city of Mantua.
In 1986
Wenner first introduced 3D pavement art at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Shortly after that he founded the first street painting festival in the United
States at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, California. The Old Mission
festival, also known as I Madonna, continues to this day as do many other
festivals and events Wenner started across the country.
One
often overlooked fact of Wenner's career is that he dedicated one month every
year, for 10 years, to teach more than 100,000 students from elementary through
university level how to work with chalks and pastels. For his dedication, he
was awarded the Kennedy Centre Medallion for his outstanding contribution to
arts education.
Wenner enjoys
a career in fine art painting, sculpture, decorative stucco relief, ceramic
murals, architectural designing and numerous images for publicity and
advertising, his latest creation being his book Asphalt Renaissance, which documents the history of pavement art
and his role in transforming it from a dying tradition to a dynamic
multi-dimensional art form. Wenner and his art works have appeared in some
impressive documentaries, including the 1987 award-winning National Geographic
documentary Masterpieces in Chalk. He
also created a print advertisement for Absolut Vodka as part of the brand’s
prestigious artist ad series. The ad is known as Absolut Wenner and the creation of the image was produced as a
television commercial.
Then, in
2010 Greenpeace called for a ban of genetically modified crops and presented
the European Union members in Brussels with 1 million signatures along with a
22 m by 22 m 3D Wenner image. The giant composition set a world record for the
largest image of its kind drawn by a single person. Wenner lives in the United
States. His works have been seen in 30 countries, and he creates works for
clients all over the world.
Wenner
will be creating his incredible bespoke artworks to highlight the new Hyundai
Veloster at The Gateway Shopping Centre on April 5. For more information visit www.kurtwenner.com
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