Urban Trompe L'oeil
Should one be passing through New Haven – perhaps to catch an exhibit at the Yale Center for British Art – consider walking a short distance down Chapel Street to see some art of an altogether different scale. Directly opposite the New Haven Green you’ll find sandwiched in an alleyway Square with Four Circles, a 110 foot tall “multi-dimensional” painting by renowned Swiss artist Felice Varini (evidently his first outdoor public artwork in the US). Cleverly composed to “flatten” urban space, this trompe l’oeil painting stretches down the alleyway, through Temple Plaza, and up Temple Garage (i.e. the “Guggenheim” of parking garages by none other than Paul Rudolph). Visit here to watch a video “walkthrough” and here to reveal how the painting was done. (hint: it involves darkness, large-scale projectors, and an iphone level). Sponsored by the non-profit group Site Projects, the “painting” along with its indoor companion piece across the Green, will be up through June 2011.
– Corey