At first, the images on the street seem to drop deep beneath the surface of the earth, but just that second you realise you are tricked. Giving the world these anamorphic projections is American artist Tracy Lee Stum, who has been creating three-dimensional (3D) pieces of chalk art for over 14 years now.
“I stumbled upon street painting back in 1998 by accident. I found myself at a street painting festival in Santa Barbara, California, and tried my hands at it. The following year I made my first street painting and fell in love with the art form. It began as a hobby but a few months into it, I knew I could make it into a full-fledged career,” says the prolific artist who was in India recently to take part in a public art festival on the beautiful Puri beach in Odisha.
Tracy is an autodidact as there wasn’t any school she could attend to learn this art form. Although, she does wish she had some guidance on the way. “I hope to change that, as I am now focused on educating younger street painters. It is extremely necessary that they get a formal platform to learn the nuances of 3D street painting. It is an art form that is based on a unique technique called anamorphic projection, which is a visual device that was perfected in the Baroque era in Europe. It was traditionally used in cathedral/church mural decoration,” she says, adding that it was only in the 1980s that some street artists began employing this particular method in their works.
The uniqueness of her works is derived from its peculiarity. Her favourite forms of art include illusionism and surreal paintings. And the success of her work lies in the fact that she has been able to trick the eyes of passers-by into seeing 3D scenes on completely flat, two-dimensional asphalt. “It is great to see people in amazement when they walk by my work. I love striking conversations with them and like to know what they think of the rare artwork. Some artists may find such public interaction a challenge, but I thrive on it. I get energised and inspired with the exchange I experience when ‘performing’ in the public arena,” she says with a smile.
Also known as pavement art in many parts of the world, the art form has many challenges if you scratch beneath the surface. “The environment and surface pose to be problematic as without them being in perfect condition, I cannot operate. Many surfaces don’t accept the medium so selecting a good site is the key. The physicality of the work sometimes seems stressful too,” says the artist who considers herself lucky to have showcased her works across the globe — from North America to Europe, Asia to Russia. Her next stop is going to be South America.
But it is India that excites her the most. “It has been invigorating, inspiring and life-changing. This is my third such visit here and each time I come, I find more and more reasons to bask in the diversity of such a rich nation. The folk art tradition here is especially interesting and stimulating,” she says, adding she may come back to try her hand at that some day.