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

"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 creation of 3D pavement art by innovative artist and Internet sensation Kurt Wenner. Wenner revolutionized this ancient art by inventing a unique technique that produces astounding 3D images that appear to reach out of the pavement toward the viewer and seem 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.

Publication Date: August 2, 2011

Includes a free poster!

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. Wenner is widely credited with inventing 3D Pavement Art in Rome, Italy and is responsible for bringing the art form to the US and around the world. His work has garnered national exposure in 1985 with a documentary on his work by
National Geographic called Masterpieces in Chalk; a print ad for Absolut Vodka as part of their prestigious artist ad series; inflight video segments; and coverage on major morning network news shows. In addition, Wenner was awarded the Kennedy Center Medallion in recognition of his outstanding contribution to arts education. He has since gone on to create Interactive 3D art, which has proved to be another global phenomenon.

Biography

Kurt Wenner is an artist with an international following. He is best known for his invention of 3D pavement art. Wenner was inspired by anamorphic perspective, but had to invent an entirely new geometry in order to create his stunning 3D pavement art
images.

Wenner's images always tell a story and challenge the public to reconsider the use of classicism (discarded during the era of Modern art). Wenner believes that the language of classicism is a critical tool that has been overlooked for far too long. He developed 3D pavement art precisely to illustrate that a new art form can be expressed within this language. Wenner has not only become known for his own body of work, he has inadvertently become the father of an art movement.

An 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 Center Medallion for his outstanding contribution to arts education.

Wenner lived in Italy for 25 years before returning to the United States. His work has been seen in 30 countries, and he currently creates work for clients all over the world.

New York Times Sunday Book Review

By STEVEN HELLER
Published: December 2, 2011

Today realism is just one more fashion, which can leave a Renaissance talent out in the cold. That's exactly where Kurt Wenner often works. A former scientific illustrator for NASA, Wenner is a street artist par excellence, who draws amazing original works (and occasional reproductions) in chalk and pastel directly on the street. ASPHALT RENAISSANCE: The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions of Kurt Wenner (Sterling Signature, paper, $24.95), by Wenner with B. Hansen and M. Hospodar, exhibits his sidewalk murals of classical compositions — destined to be washed away by time and rain — that might have put Michelangelo to shame (at least the church let him do his indoors). Wenner, who learned perspective and dimension in Italy, is one of an increasingly popular breed of street performers who earn tips for their artistic labors. At least the bills are higher denominations these days, as Wenner is invited the world over to decorate various public spaces. "It is interesting for me to see the way in which the different cultures perceive my work," he writes. "In Europe and the United States, the impermanence of street painting is foremost in the public's mind. . . . To Eastern minds, the impermanence of street painting is completely natural, even unremarkable. They are most fascinated by the drawing style itself, which is very exotic and intriguing to them." "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. Although Wenner's own comments are sometimes inspiring and the text is enlightening ("The invention of an entirely new form of perspective was born out of Wenner's need to make an irrefutably original artistic statement within the context of classicism"), I could have done without the layout tricks, including photo captions in obtrusive color bars with faux chalk shadows. The monumentality of the work also begs for a larger format than this. But no book could be as incredible as Wenner's live work, which would be difficult to reproduce under any circumstances.
Amazon Book Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enlightning view of Asphalt, December 6, 2011

Marnie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asphalt Renaissance: The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions of Kurt Wenner (Paperback)

The Sarasota Chalk Festival in November of this year was amazing and our realty company, J Wood Realty sponsored Kurt Wenner's visit. His book is every bit as entertaining and interesting as the man himself and we enjoyed every minute that we were able to spend with him. He is so multi-faceted that I had to read the book and I enjoyed every page of it. From his adventures at NASA to his life in Europe, he pens an entertaining and yet very educational read.

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