Street painting

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Street painting at 2004 Sidewalk Arts Festival.
A street painter working in New York City.
A street painter working outside Centre Pompidou. The painting being copied is Vermeer's Het meisje met de parel.
street painter, so-called pavement artist in the pedestrian area of Stuttgart, Germany, with the vintage unfinished picture.

Street painting is the activity of rendering artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent materials.

[edit] Origin

Street painting has been recorded throughout Europe since the 16th century. Street painters in Italy are called madonnari (pronounced: mah-doan-are-ee with madonnaro being the singular form) because they often created pictures representing the Madonna. In England they are called screevers.

Historically, madonnari were itinerant artists who lived a life of travel and freedom. Aware of the festival and holy days (holidays) in each province and town, they traveled to join in the festivities. They created images in public squares and in front of the local church using bits of broken roof tiles, charcoal, and some white chalk. Passersby would often leave a bit of bread or olive oil for the artist along with an occasional coin. The artists were often commissioned to create votos and ex-votos, and after the festivities or with the first rain, both the painting and the painter would vanish.

For centuries madonnari were folk artists, reproducing simple images with crude materials. World War II disrupted their itinerant tradition and reduced their numbers. In 1972 the first International Street Painting Competition was held in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy. The purpose of the competition was to record and publicize the work of those considered to be the last practitioners of this traditional art form. The oldest of the painters were already in their 90s. Over the years, the competition has drawn younger painters and larger crowds. The festival remains popular and street painting festivals around the world are modeled on the event. The 1972 festival resulted in national recognition of the validity of the art form by the Superintendent of Culture. This recognition caused a whole new generation of street painters to emerge. Within a decade these artists were using high quality commercial and handmade pastels to create copies of well known masterpieces.

Over the past decades various artist have developed new styles that are based on the work of artists such as Andrea Mantegna, MC Escher, Michelangelo, Hans Hoblien and others. Today this work is called anamorphic or 3D. In the past it was called one point perspective or fish eye. The first streetpainter in the US was in Boston and went by the name of Side Walk Sam.

In 1982 Kurt Wenner an American artist, began street painting in Rome, Italy and by 1983 he took the already existing art form known as anamorphic or 3-dimensional to the street by drawing then brushing his home made pastels into a painting. In 1984 he was documented by National Geographic in their award winning film "Masterpieces In Chalk". In this same year he won the title of Master Street Painter at the Grazie festival.

In 1987, Master Street Painters Kurt Wenner and Manfred Stader introduced the art of street painting to the Old Mission Santa Barbara, California. This was the first of numerous events throughout the United States that are modeled on the Italian festival at Grazie di Curtatone. Since this early introduction both traditional and 3-dimensional street painting have spread throughout the world. The innovative appeal of 3-dimensional street art has inspired many artists such as Julian Beever and Gary Palmer.

Today there are more artists working in the streetpainting genre on themes that are more contemporary and appealing to the audience. Michael Kirby has developed the art form with new techniques and themes while breaking away from the traditional themes of the Renaissance. He was the first artist to use streetpainting as way to express social injustices and human rights. He has teamed up with the Red Cross and other non-profit groups to create work that deals with human rights, social relief, etc around the world. The LA Times wrote that Michael Kirby was the best streetpainter in the world. Today he runs his own studio in Baltimore, Maryland. His work is not only created on the pavements but also decorates the interiors and exteriors of major buildings through out the world.

"A recent development in the street painting art form in the twenty first century is the use of user generated video, blogging, and podcasting of street painting artists at all levels of ability and their fans worldwide. This new technological advance offers opportunity for all street painting, artists, festivals, and fans to allow a window not only to their latest image or festival appearance but a chance to let others know why they street paint and to encourage others – especially the younger generation of street painters to become known and grow in experience. Reaching the public in this way allows the performance aspects of street painting to be shared with many who do not readily have the opportunity to see street painting in person" says streetpainting.tv and its blog 'Blog Now on streetpainting.tv which initiated this positive direction for all street painting artists, festivals, and fans beginning in September 2007. An example of where you can find this new technology at work is on a new online community called the Street Painting Society.

One of the biggest street painting festivals in the country is the Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival.

School, State and National Level Painting Competition for School Children 2008 under NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON ENERGY CONSERVATION 2008 Last date for School Level Painting Competition extended to 31 October, 2008

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