artist Chris Carlson Lives in Denver. He’s a Nuggets fan. Perhaps not the most obvious choice to paint a mural in Los Angeles based on the Lakers legend.
“My relationship with the Lakers is complicated,” Carlson told the Times in an email interview. “Being from Denver and growing up as a Nuggets fan, I watched the Lakers knock us out of the playoffs every season during the season. [Carmelo Anthony] “Years.”
However, Carlson is a huge fan Kobe Bryant. He took the opportunity to paint a mural commissioned by Nike to honor the Black Mamba alongside Venice Beach Basketball courts, where 18-year-old Bryant He broke his left wrist during a pickup game Before his rookie season.
“I’m definitely a Kobe fan!” Carlson wrote. “His skills were unparalleled and his work ethic was inspiring. A lot of his philosophies about working to be a better athlete can be applied to becoming a better artist. Things like embracing discomfort and pushing your perceived limits really resonated with me.”
Carlson is an Indiana-based artist Nate Baranowski I finished painting the larger than life mural this month. Bryant appears with a severe frown on his face. A giant snake appears to explode into the painting and wrap itself around Bryant, his head ending up side by side. The upper features Nike’s Swoosh logo and the slogan: “This is not the year of the snake. This is the year of the mamba.”
Mike Asner, who directs KobeMural.com website, posted a video of the mural on the site’s Instagram page this week and the post racked up 2 million views and 187,000 likes in three days.
“This is not normal,” Asner said, estimating that a typical post featuring a Bryant mural gets between 150,000 and 300,000 views and 10,000 to 15,000 likes.
Asner said he thinks people are drawn to the “realism and three-dimensional nature” of the mural.
“People are going crazy over it,” Asner said. “I’ve never seen people go crazy over a mural.”
Here’s more from the Times interview with Carlson. The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
People play basketball in front of the new Kobe Bryant mural on Saturday in Venice Beach.
(Chuck Schilkin/Los Angeles Times)
How did this project come about?
Nike approached me about creating this mural on Venice Beach. They had an idea to incorporate 3D illusion and optical illusion effects into a Kobe mural they were planning, and since optical illusion murals are my specialty they reached out to me. I loved their concept and was thrilled when they chose me for the project.
What inspired the design?
The design started with the black mamba (snake). I wanted the snake to wrap around the image of Kobe in a way that showed that the two were connected and connected forever. Having the mamba poking through the wall helps create a feeling of density and power that I really wanted to capture in the mural. It’s as if Kobe and the Mamba are challenging us to be the best version of ourselves. The architectural elements in the corners are the Kobe logo. I think it helps draw the viewers’ eyes to the center of the mural.
How did people react while you were working on it?
The reactions of people in the stadiums while drawing were amazing! Once people saw that it was a mural of Kobe, excitement started to build. It was one of my favorite drawing experiences because of all the encouragement we received from the audience while drawing.
How is this project different from your usual work?
This is the largest mural I’ve designed to date, which brings some different challenges. But it also allows the artwork to have greater visual impact. I also don’t usually draw in such a popular location. It was an honor to paint a mural depicting someone as special as Kobe Bryant in a location as special as the basketball courts of Venice Beach.
