Friday Fun: Cars Paint Roads

Iepe Rubingh, a Dutch artist, transformed a busy intersection in Berlin into a public art piece. “Painting Reality” is composed of bikers spilling liters of environmentally friendly and water-based paint in the path of moving traffic. Once spilled into the road, the various shades of color are spread into the street by the moving wheels of cars.

“Because I work a lot in a public space it feels that I am painting reality,” Iepe told the Toronto Star. “I am not a painter but my work always feels like I am painting reality myself and the world myself.”

Previously the artist carried out similarly candid and interactive public art for pedestrians. Iepe spilled buckets of paint on German sidewalks and watched the emerging patterns as shoes, bike wheels and cars scattered to their destinations.

“Painting Reality” took Iepe and 60 helpers weeks of preparation. Iepe carefully selected the paint, making sure it would easily wash off of the streets with rain, and he even left messages for the police to not worry and that the paint was harmless.

What do you think about Iepe’s art work? What does this say about our interaction with public space?

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