The Art of the Mural

The Art of the Mural is a celebration of muralism as a contemporary global movement. It features some of the most impressive mural art worldwide, offering insight into the gravity of muralism as an influential art form and encouraging the appreciation of street art culture as a valuable part of our visual landscape. As the first installment of a four-part series, the book introduces fifty outstanding artists from Africa to Asia, whose level of commitment to their work continues to bridge the gap between the worlds of fine art and street art.

The Art of the Mural一书堪称当代全球性壁画运动的代表作，以世界各地最让人惊艳的壁画艺术为特色，解析这个深具影响力的艺术形式的厚重意义，希望把街头艺术的欣赏纳入人们享受视觉风景的重要一环。本书作为四部曲的首推款，介绍了五十位来自非洲和亚洲的优秀艺术家，他们全心投入自己的工作，旨在为学院派美术和街头艺术构建交流平台。

The Art of the Mural draws attention to the universal nature of muralism and its ability to transcend cultural barriers. The book showcases a multi-cultural variety of work and styles, including an outstanding selection of Asian artists such as Clogtwo, TWOONE, and DALeast, from Singapore, Japan and China respectively. Although the latter two no longer live in Asia, their cultural heritage continues to permeate the work they create abroad. This is an integral part of contemporary international urban art: the fact that anyone, from anywhere, can engage with the medium as a vital social concept.

The Art of the Mural向人们凸显壁画中的共通性以及跨越文化障碍的魅力。书中也展示了大量风格各异的多元化作品，其中包括很多亚洲艺术家的杰出代表作，如来自新加坡的Clogtwo，日本的TWOONE和中国的DALeast都榜上有名。尽管后面两位艺术家目前都不居住在亚洲，但地域文化依旧传承于他们在海外的作品创作中。这就是当前国际性城市艺术的不可分割性：来自任何地方的任何人，都能以突出表现某种社会概念为主旨，加入到这个传播媒介中。

Based in Singapore, Clogtwo is a ‘visual anarchist’ whose style incorporates both graffiti art and fine art. His work is often aggressive, exploring the darker aspects of society but using black humor to create interesting and colorful narratives. DALeast’s fractured imagery is similarly dark, woven with intricate detail to look as though thousands of metal shards are converging together. This brings his figures energetically to life, alleviating them from their somber subject matter. As a Chinese artist, he is inspired by the way the material world revolves, how the spiritual world unfolds, life’s emotions and the infinite space between us, the questions his ancestors have been concerned with for centuries.

来自新加坡的Clogtwo是一位视觉艺术家，同时也是一位先锋的无政府主义者。他的作品融入了涂鸦和油画的绘图风格，同时思想激进，勇于探索社会黑暗之面，但也加入黑色幽默让创造变得趣味无穷。DALeast的作品里充满破碎的意向同样带着黑暗面的隐喻，他作品以繁复的细节营造出似是上千小金属碎片制成的立体效果，因而涂鸦中形象更加栩栩如生，同时也给严肃沉重的主题带来缓冲。作为华裔艺术家，DALeast一直在思考这个物质社会的运转方式，精神世界是如何呈现，生活中的喜怒哀乐，人与人之间的无限空间，以及那些从人类祖先就开始思考、困扰了我们几个世纪的难题。

TWOONE’s work is equally dynamic, heavily influenced by his exposure to skateboarding and urban art subculture in both Japan and Australia. The artist moved from Tokyo to Melbourne at the age of eighteen, immediately becoming a prominent part of the local street art scene. He has continued to expand on the formal training he received in his youth, showing his work internationally inside galleries and, of course, outside on the streets.

受滑板的运动经历和在日本和澳大利亚的城市亚文化艺术影响，TWOONE的作品都充满了一种动态。这位来自东京的艺术家在十八岁时来到了墨尔本，不久便摇身成为当地街头艺术的领军人物。他正延续之前接收的正式艺术培训之路，继续深造，所以其作品不仅限于市井街区，也能在各地的艺术画廊里得以展出。

Art Whino gallery owner and creative director of the book, Shane Pomajambo, describes The Art of the Mural as capturing a particular moment in time, a personal observation and unification of a worldwide scene where artists have taken to the streets to creatively express themselves. He’s particularly amazed by street art culture’s ubiquitous history and equal development, that even if you exhibited thirty culturally different artists, the array of work could easily have come from one city. The Art of the Mural is now available for purchase from Schiffer Publishing and on Amazon.

该书的创意总监，同时也是Art Whino画廊的老板Shane Pomajambo称The Art of the Mural一书是某个时刻的捕获，以一种个性化的观察视角，串联起全球各地艺术家们在街头的创意之作。他尤其感叹于街头艺术文化那种俯拾即是的氛围和无差别发展历史，就算你展示了三十个不同文化风格的艺术家作品，其作品都有可能来自同一个城市。现在可以从Schiffer Publishing和Amazon上购买The Art of the Mural。