DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The 10th Annual Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, CA provided an opportunity to see awe-inspiring art in an unexpected medium: chalk on asphalt.

The big draw (no pun intended) was a half-size recreation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, but I was more affected by some of the other pieces — which are very difficult to photograph given the perspective of the average spectator. Crowds cast long shadows, for one thing (you’ll see my own in the corner of one image); getting high enough above any of these images to capture the whole piece without huge perspective distortion was basically impossible. (Staff volunteers carried ladders for the official photographers, but even these were inadequate for some of the larger panels.)

It was hot. Imagine spending two days on hands and knees on freshly sealed asphalt. Kudos to the artists for enduring, especially given the temporary nature of this work.

The other lasting impression I had is how filthy some of the artists were. Loose-hanging clothes and exposed skin were quickly smeared with chalk, dirt, sweat, and grime. It seemed like it would be an absolutely miserable way to spend a weekend… but the art! Some of the images were stunning. Seeing these photo-realistic lighting effects and super-saturated colors on the street was jarring, even for a “street painting festival.” Basically it was amazing. See examples below.

Here are galleries of past festivals:

• 2000 Italian Street Painting Festival
• 2002 Italian Street Painting Festival