Thursday Salute To Originals: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes
We’ve all seen optical illusions. They are a fun and interesting way to really get your brain ticking. But we’re willing to bet you haven’t seen any quite like this. No computer alterations here, just amazing talent and an intriguingly original point of view. The question is, is it a 2D artistic painting, a 3D scene, or both?
Alexa Meade, an American installation artist, has made quite a name for herself with her unique artistic expression and point of view. Instead of using paint to depict reality, Meade uses reality to depict expressionist art. Achieved by painting directly on her subject matter, essentially using her models and surroundings as living canvases, an amazing trompe l’oeil is achieved. Her innovative technique compresses the entire scene into a matte 2D plane that reads as an expressionist painting, not a physical reality with spatial relationships.
The strokes, movement, and color variances of the paint disguise the depth, contours, shadows, and highlights of the three dimensional space, and fool the eye into believing they are viewing an artistic representation of reality on canvas, not reality itself.
Meade uses this technique in both her photography and live installations. The distortion of space through both mediums is apparent and visually stunning. Whether looking at a photo or physically experiencing the live scene, it is easy to be fooled by her unique talent.
Meade’s ability to deconstruct reality in its three dimensional form and turn it into a flat surface offers a new appreciation for both the 2D and 3D artistic expressions. Her refreshing approach to this dichotomy makes her artwork truly noteworthy and one that ultimately alters our perception of reality and physical space.
Image credits:MyModernMet