Art

The artist who takes 17 years for a painting – BBC News



The artist Ben Johnson has painted every building on the Liverpool skyline in one picture. He painted all 30,000 tiles of the Dome of the Rock, each with seven layers of paint. And he’s spent the equivalent of 17 years on one artwork. He is, he admits, a bit obsessive.
His work has been shown at London’s National Gallery and now for the first time, his life’s work is on display in a retrospective at Southampton City Art Gallery.
He told BBC News the story of a traumatic and chaotic childhood that lies behind these quiet, painstaking paintings.
Video journalist: Dan Curtis

Subscribe to BBC News HERE http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
Check out our website: http://www.bbc.com/news
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bbcworldnews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bbcworld
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bbcnews

BBC News

Source

Similar Posts

19 thoughts on “The artist who takes 17 years for a painting – BBC News
  1. This is your brain on autism. I don't know how I feel about such exact replications as art. If his interpretation is just duplication, why not just photograph it instead?

    Meh, impressive dedication anyway.

  2. I came from a fucked family back ground. I agree the only thing that can over come messed up behaviour patterns is focused discipline. His technical craftsmanship is therapy. So good for Ben! His therapy makes him a living too! This is much better for a human being than say becoming focused on drugs, food or other unnecessary shit like those people who have to count before they open the fridge door etc. . . . .

  3. Reminds me of my aunt… She took about 3 years to paint a picture with a crouching lynx she had seen in national geographic. The thing looked amazing when it was done. When she went to sell prints of the painting, the photographer who originally took the picture sent a cease and desist notification to her… All that work for nothing. =/

Comments are closed.

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com