Eye-popping 3D street art (photos)

Artists incorporate three dimensions into sidewalk drawings to create amazing optical illusions.

Leslie Katz July 26, 2010 1:48 p.m. PT

1 of 10 Kurt Wenner

Cursors

You don't need special glasses to view these eye-popping works of 3D street painting, also called anamorphic or illusionistic art. But you will need to approach them from just the right angle to get the full effect.

Cursors meet the classics in this Czech installation by Italian artist Kurt Wenner, who draws with handmade pastels and generally paints between 4 and 6 square yards a day.

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2 of 10 Rick Lee

White-water rafting

Thanks to U.K. artist Julian Beever, it's possible to go white-water rafting right on the pavement (or it was, before the rain came and washed Beever's painting away).

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3 of 10 Julian Beever

Spider-Man

Beever's Spider-man comes to the rescue above and below a London street.

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4 of 10 Edgar Mueller

A cave in London

Another London street goes anamorphic, this time housing a mysterious, light-drenched cave painted by German artist Edgar Mueller.

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5 of 10 Eduardo Relero

Insensatez

Anamorphic street paintings, like "Insensatez" (Insanity) by Eduardo Relero invite interactivity.

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6 of 10 Tracy Lee Stum

Escape of the Mummy

Artist Tracy Lee Stum drew inspiration from Indiana Jones and the Mummy for "Escape of the Mummy," 1 12x12-foot chalk drawing that made a showing at the Youth in Arts Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, Calif., in 2008.

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7 of 10 Tracy Lee Stum

Demo painting in Calcutta

Stum painted this 7x10-foot demo painting at the School of Fine Art in Calcutta, India, to teach students how to paint a believable 3D spatial image in chalk.

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8 of 10 Manfred Stader

EasyJet ad

Artist Manfred Stader created this 3D street advertisement in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the travel-booking site EasyJet.com.

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9 of 10 Manfred Stader

Astana

Stader was invited to create a 3D street painting in Astana, Kazakhstan, to mark its 12th year as the capital. His painting depicts the country's Charyn canyon.

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10 of 10 Manfred Stader