The creation of art can be just as interesting as the resulting work itself. Artists Matthew Dayler and Danny Babcock know that as they return for the second year to create an original mural for Visual Fringe.
Dayler, a faculty member at the Art Academy of Cincinnati for the past seven years, was hired to paint last year's mural based on the work organizers saw at his gallery shows. With a more urban, street graffiti-style, Dayler was looking for someone to work with on the project.
"We just really fused on a creative level, on a conceptual level," Dayler says of his collaborations with Babcock, which also resulted in Higher Level Art (www.higherlevelart.com), a company that creates large-scale mural projects.
This year the duo, along with photographer Scott Beseler (www.taketheday.com), who helps with photographic elements, will paint on the north wall of Know Theatre.
"This year, because the mural is facing the Art Academy, we're kind of playing off of a fine art vibe ... along with playing with contemporary urban painting such as graffiti and historical paintings," Dayler says.
Dayler and Babcock encourage people to come and watch them paint. The artists will start working about 5 or 6 p.m. every day during Fringe.
The mural-making process includes sketches, measurements and something called "pouncing," which involves printing out large sections on paper and applying them to the wall with chalk outlines, Dayler says.
"I really think that (the Fringe Festival's) openness to various media - I also think their presence in Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine - is very important for me. ... I'm from a larger city, too; I'm not from here, so I'm really interested in that urban activation or urban beautification."
