4/11/11 Word to the Wise: Up There
If your morning is missing some beautiful views of the city, sharp and funny commentary from unconventional New Yorkers, and insight into an art form you didn't know existed, have we got some (old) news for you. For three weeks in 2009, Sky High Murals partnered with Stella Artois to document a traditional Belgian beer-pouring ritual on a 20x50 SoHo wall. And this is one ad that actually deserves more than a passing glance--in fact, it's earned a beautiful short documentary film: Up There.
Director Michael Murray's lovely piece showcases some of the last remaining New York sign artists who make a living hand-painting old-fashioned advertisements. These massive precursors to the billboard have richer color and more character than the vinyl prints putting them out of business, and painting takes days to complete. The work itself actually generates publicity as passers-by stop to take photos of the work or watch the artists, (and student culture blogs talk about them years later).
Stella's campaign's slogan, "Perfection has its price," actually seems fitting when it comes to this particular work. Several painted images formed a time-lapse series--beer being poured, foaming, standing in a glass--although the original website is no longer up, you can still read more about the effort, called The Ritual Project.
Sky High's hand-painted signs turn images worth only a passing glance into fascinating works of art, and the film documenting the process is beautifully done. If you’ve got a spare twelve minutes today, you won’t be sorry.
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Word to the Wise
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