1. Briefly tell us who you are for those who have never met you.
My
name is Kurt Wenner. I am an American artist, although I have spent
half my life in Italy. I work within the tradition of European
classicism and create original architectural designs, paintings,
sculpture and decoration. I work in numerous media and venues, but am
best known for inventing
3-dimensional pavement art. This is a very popular art form that has inspired many artists.
2. Tell us about your profession as a master artist.
The
title, “Master Artist”, refers to the ability to compose original works
within the language of classical form across a variety of mediums such
sculpture, painting, architecture. I’ve worked hard to be able to
succeed at doing this. There were many master artists in the past, and
the term “master artist” should not be confused with “great master
artist”. “Old master” seems to imply “great master”, because it also
refers to the body of work that is in museums today. A master artist
will also create works that inspire others and be able to teach. This
is the most significant meaning of the term.
3. When did your interest in art started?
Art
is the way I am able to understand the physical world, discover order
in the universe, and communicate those discoveries to others. I think
that the desire to communicate has always been foremost in my personal
agenda. Although I always created images, my formal decision to be a
professional artist was made in high school. To this day I work nearly
every day including weekends on artwork of some sort. I always feel
that I have more to do than I can possibly accomplish.
4. What is your greatest work in time or in area?
My
most well known piece is a work of pavement art known as the “Dies
Irae”. It has been published all over the world, and it was the piece
that introduced 3D street painting to the world. Many artists have
taken up thisart form in the last decade, and I think it is partly due to the success of that image.
My
most successful invention has been the art form of 3D street painting.
This has influenced many artists and directly or indirectly touched
millions of people. It is still only a small aspect of a much larger
comprehensive study of geometry, design, perspective and illusion that I
have been working on for the last 30 years. I am working on publishing
this material now. It will be much more important than anything I have
done so far.
5. Have you done any street painting in Sweden?
My family has Swedish origins and I have visited Stockholm, but I have never done a work in Sweden.
6. Tell us about your future plans
I
am currently working on educational programs that will bring the
results of my personal experience to the next generation. I plan to
mount educational demonstrations on my website. These will include the
famous illusions, but also a comprehensive survey of geometry in the
arts, including proportion and architectural design. Later I will
expand the demonstrations to include other subjects such as classical
drawing. When I started studying this material, many of the ideas
seemed obsolete. Now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction
and much of what I know has contemporary applications, especially for
computer graphics and imaging. The classical drawing provides a solid
foundation for contemporary drawing styles, which are becoming more
figurative.
7.
Q: Coffee or tea
A: Coffee is a necessity, tea a luxury.
Q: Burgers and Pizza
A: Burgers at noon, pizza at night.
Q: Winter or Summer
A: Winter for work, summer for relaxation.
Q: Book or film
A: Books for learning, film for winding down.
Q: Showering or bathing
A: Showering, except for the Jacuzzi
Tack Kurt för dina svar!
