flexing

at my job i've been tasked with the responsibility of commissioning a wall mural or two for an office buildout i'm overseeing. i haven't ever really focused on what makes murals so special, but it must be something about the fact that it's embedded into a site. you can't peel it away and take it with you.

it is not only a part of the place that it's in, it's an extension of the place it's in. there's a lot of room for illusion with a mural; the art historical trompe l'oeil was the beginning of this sort of practice, the artists creating a seamless, realistic transition from the world of the art to the world of the viewer. it can bring majestic, far-away places to the present, involving you in its story and nearly bringing its characters to the world of live interaction and consequence - for example this classic 15th century mural which leads you to believe a team of cherubs is about to drop a bucket of apples onto your head:

mantegna, camera degli sposi, 1465-74

contemporary take on the trompe l'oeil:

thinking of how mategna painted so realistically and playfully on the ceiling of the italian queen's bedchamber, or how michaelangelo painted an entire nave's ceiling in the sistine chapel, makes you think upside down. the method of execution in any mural is a live performance in itself, the artist or team of artists denied an easy easel and instead hiked up on elevation platforms or cherry pickers hand-painting the environment. magicians at work, they paint with some correlated vision of how this massive structure will look from afar.

 they are literally the definition of "big picture" people.

of course i would love to do something this insane for the project, but we'll have to keep the onion's murals within the realm of client-facing office decor. it's still interesting to think, though, of how we can bring the love and history of the onion into a new space, reminding us who we are and what we should be so proud of. and perhaps, if i can swing it, a reference to our mythical foundation by sir herman zweibel, who brought the onion to over 500 countries and 8 billion people worldwide in the 1800s.

the muralist above, cinta vidal, exhibits surreal extensions of space and gravity in his "stationary" works, as well. which leads into the part of the post where i just delight you with images.

together alone

i might have just found a new favorite artist. his name is beeple and his site-specific work is embedded in the internet. he uploads one creation a day, and his ouevre over the course of thirty-three hundred days is consistently impressive.

william swanson

indulge.

stare. 

sing.

list of alternative songs for this post:
the great divide (seven lions remix), between two points - the glitch mob, afterglow - phaeleh, fall silently - temporal, bloodflows (sonny alven remix), divinity (ODESZA remix), drift - alina baraz,  unfold - alina baraz, 2AM - astrid.....