Julian Beever

2006

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The anamorphic illusion that Beever creates is that his art can only be viewed from one position. This is the position of the camera in most of these examples. He creates his three dimensional illusions for a single viewer. He wasn't the first to do this. Painters creating their trompe l'oeil masterpieces in the 17th and 18th centuries did much the same thing. (See Auguste Renoir's trompe l'oeil at the Barnes Gallery.) Michelangelo also painted the slightly curved ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to be viewed from the floor of the chapel not from where he lay on the scaffolding. So how is it done? Julian Beever has made pavement drawings for over ten years. He has worked in the U.K., Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia. He uses coloured chalk and creates an anamorphic 3-dimensional image when viewed from one position. Constructing the drawing takes some careful planning and execution. Below are two photographs of the same painting. One showing the completed image of a swimming pool into which Julian is carefully placing a toe to test the water and below is a photograph of the same scene taken in the opposite direction. They give a good idea of the care he has to take to get everything right     This image was created on a Glaswegian street. Julian Beever also paints regular 2-dimensional canvases and murals that can be found by a short Google search.

Julian Beever is a British street artist … one who follows the business of the buskers of the 19th Century and the mediaeval street players before them. However, he has developed his art into a new form that deserves preservation. However, preservation is the very quality that street art does not possess except through photography as shown here. So, this site is in part a tribute to Julian Beever's street art and a point of preservation Remember there is nothing 3-dimensional standing on the pavement in any of these pictures other than passers-by and Julian Beever. Click on the scenes to see larger images. Superman Superwoman A seal from the Underground Can you see Beever sitting on the cap of the beer bottle … where is he? Hosing illusionary water down an illusionary drain A computer … but see the stones through its screen up an down through a hole! The world in London No need for a lake for yachts Superman to the rescue Remember that there is nothing but a flat street in any of these scenes. Take a dip or run a fountain - there's water in the mains. If you dig up a street in London (Londinium) you are as likely to find nothing but something for people to walk around or perhaps a Roman mosaic from two thousand years ago.   The effect of digging up a street. Click here to find out Rembrandt Picasso