Global warming is melting building?

Don't worry, this building deformation is not caused by global warming. No, your eye is not deceiving you, and Unbelievable Facts never published something that's fictional. What seems to be a melting building is actually an optical illusion called Trompe-l'œil, created by the society Anthem in Paris, France. Trompe-l'œil is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects really exist, instead of being mere, two-dimensional paintings. The name is derived from the French word "trompe" means to deceive and "l'œil" the eye.

Although the phrase has its origin in the 16th century, when it refers to perspectival illusionism, use of trompe-l'œil art dates back much further. A typical trompe-l'œil might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room. Trompe-l'œil can also be found painted on tables and other items of furniture, on which, for example, a deck of playing cards might appear to be sitting on the table. A particularly impressive example is the trompe l'oeil dome in the Jesuit church in Vienna, Austria by Andrea Pozzo. The actual ceiling is only slighty coved.

In Paris, it's a common practice that the facade of buildings under construction be covered with tarpaulin printed with Trompe-l'œil, as a way to mask the unsightly work being carried out. The Bleeker group asked the society Anthem, well known for the Vuitton suitcase on the champs-élysées, to imagine a cover for their building, 39 avenue George V. The plastician Pierre Delavie took clichés of the existing facade, distort the image and printed it on a huge canvas sheet of 2500 square meters. Some relief cornices are stuck to the photo to enhance the reality or unreality of the trompe-l'oeil. The theme is given the name "le surréalisme urbain".

The building will house the headquarters of Bleeker by the end of 2007, but now it's remained hidden while under renovation. Even though the approach is more commercial than artistic, the result is a parisian success. This ephemeral trompe-l'oeil will be removed at the end of the renovation.

Source : www.39georgev.org
Source : www.trompe-l-oeil.info

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