Photo: The Canadian Press
It rises on the edge of the city center, a stone’s throw from the Calgary Tower, a touch of color amidst aging buildings, train tracks, parks and a steady stream of traffic.
It is listed as the tallest mural in the world, painted by one of the most important graffiti artists in the world, and is part of a project to turn an austere downtown area into an extensive outdoor urban art gallery. .
“The brutality and dystopian look of this area with the giant parks and spiral ramps and all that, it looks like Gotham. So turning this concrete nothing wall into this is a lot of fun,” said Peter Oliver , president of the Beltline Urban Mural Project. , or BUMP.
The mural is an abstract painting in various shades of orange, black, gray, blue, white and yellow and is the creation of DAIM, an internationally renowned German artist. DAIM, whose real name is Mirko Reisser, has been creating public works of art for over 30 years.
“DAIM’s work is rooted in the art of graffiti. It’s abstract and it was actually the first graffiti he started exploring three-dimensional works. So his work obeys the laws of light and shadow but defies the laws of gravity, “Oliver said. .
“I think his work goes very well with the brutality of this building and it’s just a massive flat concrete wall. It’s the first prefabricated concrete building in Calgary, built in 1980.”
The mural is 95 meters high, making it the world’s tallest “longest” mural, Oliver said.
He said most cities do not have giant concrete walls available, most are made of glass, steel or aluminum. So this was a perfect marriage.
DAIM, which was attended by three local artists, spent more than three weeks painting and went through more than 500 cans of spray paint after a base layer had been added to the bare concrete. It will be a permanent addition to the area and, since last week, I was waiting for a layer of UV sealer to complete it.
Looking east, it can be seen from afar.
“If you have the window seat on the plane, you can see it as it approaches the airport,” Oliver said.
“I think what we’re really doing with BUMP is redesigning the identity of this city.”
The project will present about 60 new murals during its annual festival, which takes place from 1 to 28 August. Prior to that, visitors will be able to see the new artwork at the annual Calgary Stampede, which begins this week.
“If you go down, I would check it out any day during the parade,” Oliver said with a laugh.