Image Analysis

Mermaids – by Kurt Wenner

In looking at the photograph of this street-drawing, one would think that bystanders outside of the building could simply walk down the steps and fall into the mythical play land of mermaids. The chalk drawing that Wenner created is a pool of water that sinks down into the stone path where people should be walking. Within the pool of water, there are six mer-people, a serpent, and a horse. Each creature is creating ripples in the water due to their tugging and thrashing movements. Along the rim of the pool, there are tiny seashells, starfish, and oysters. These small details give the viewer a reference to the beach and ocean. Even though we can see palm trees in the background of the photograph, as viewers we still do not know where the location of this artwork is, and whether or not its is near the ocean.

This image has two contrasting forms of line and circular movement. The building has perpendicular pillars, several rows of brick, and long horizontal stairs. These straight lines take up half of the photograph with the other half being the 3D chalk drawing that Wenner created. The street-drawing has more circular references and even gives the viewer a feeling of movement. The stones around the pool are round, the pool itself is a circle, and there are circular ripples around each character in the pool. Besides these actual circular shapes, the characters in the pool could appear to be flowing in a counter-clockwise circular motion. The man in the front center of the image is being pulled by another man in that direction. The man behind him is learning backwards as he takes a drink, which also references the pull towards the left. There is a serpent swimming towards the right and that helps to finish of the sweeping motion of a circular pull around the pool.

Due to the fact that the viewer is unsure of where is photograph was taken, it makes it difficult to determine if the struggle of the mermaids inside of the pool of water would have any reference to turmoil within the society. I could guess that the mermaids represent the people in society struggling for their various rights. They are in a pool of water because it is hard for them to climb out of the hardships that they have been enduring. The people on the building steps looking down on them could represent the form of government that is doing nothing to help them with their struggle. They have the power to step down into the pool and help but they simply look down on them and let their fight continue. In a more general sense, Wenner could be referring to life and could be trying to tell us that not everything is what it seems. When one thinks of mermaids, they think of something happy and fantasy related. However, these mermaids are struggling with something and are not living in harmony. This would tell the viewer that even when one thinks that someone is living the ideal lifestyle, there are still things that go wrong and internal issues that others can not see.

The subject of mermaids fits in with Wenner’s other street-drawings because many of his themes revolve around mythical beings or they have a classical twist. The style of drawing itself reminds me of the classical Greek or Roman figures. The body structure of the men in this drawing is what specifically references this time period in my opinion. Wenner studied in Rome and did a lot of work in Europe, so it would make sense that many of his pieces refer to this historic period in art history.