Perspective images
Artist: Julian Beever – British Chalk Pavement Artist
- Born Cheltenham, UK 1959.
- Grew up in Melton Mowbray from the age of two.
- Attended state schools and studied Art at Leeds Met. University in UK.1979-83.
- Julian Beever is a British artist who began pavement art as a busker, drawing in different countries including the USA, Australia and Europe to fund his travels .
- Began anamorphic pavement illusions in early 90’s.
- Commercial commissions from mid 2000’s.
- Has also worked in a range of different jobs including photographer’s assistant, tree-planter, carpet-fitter, Art teacher, English teacher (TEFL), street entertainer and Punch and Judy Man.
- Wrote book « Pavement Chalk Artist » (published by Firefly), featuring his pavement art in 2011 .
Julian Beever is known all over the world for his chalk pavement drawings, more especially his 3D illusions, drawn in a special distortion to create an impression of 3D when seen from one particular viewpoint.
Some have dubbed him “the Pavement Picasso” but he says that although this is flattering, his work has little in common with the Spanish Master except perhaps in the fact that Picasso too was interested in 3 dimensionality in his Cubist period.
In order to appear really 3 dimensional however, they need to be viewed either through a camera (which he sets up on a tripod for people to look through) or on a mobile phone, ipad or other screen. They do not look 3D to the naked eye.
Each drawing must be seen from one special viewpoint and if the viewer moves from it the illusion is lost and the drawing becomes an unrecognizable distortion.
More than just traditional flat drawings, the works Beever creates are uniquely three-dimensional anamorphic drawings. They are drawn in perspective and distorted so the subject can be viewed properly only from one particular viewpoint. For those who are standing in the right place, his chalk drawings invite them to step right into the scene or, in the case of the artist’s well-known Swimming Pool in the High Street, dive right into the water.
Before developing his 3D, anamorphic style, Julian worked as a street busker, doing more conventional 2D portraits on busy shopping streets in London and Europe. In this way he learned how best to use pastels before attempting the more innovative and ambitious 3D illusions that were to follow.
