Unique Use of Paint

I came across an article not long ago with images of a man who had his entire body painted to blend in with his surroundings.  Not simple, as in camo, but complex, such as seen to the left.  I couldn't believe how difficult is was to tell the difference between the man and the picture!  Who in their right mind would want to do this... let alone take the time to do it?


As you can see in the top photo, he is blending into a theatre of sorts.  All one color, different shades and tints in order to accomplish the desired effect.  I imagine this man, who's name is Lui Bolin, has a statement to make.  To the common eye, this statement could be that Bolin wants to prove a point.  Maybe he feels invisible to the outside world, or as if he is not being heard.  


To me, these works of art shout out a message so strong it is hard to ignore.  Bolin chooses complex pictures to disguise himself in, not simple ones.  The simple pictures are the ones that are the hardest to hide in.  The cans picture is one of the busier images, therefore making it easier to miss where he is standing.  The same goes for several of the images.  But if you look up some more of his work, there are simpler ones of him against a graffiti wall and in the middle of a street that it is not at all difficult to find him.  Bolin is telling me that in today's day and age, an age of hustle and bustle it is easy to forget the things that should be most obvious.  Someone may be standing not far away, but it is easy to be distracted by people too caught up in the detail... to caught up in what is going on around them.  


It astonishes me the degree some people go to in order to get a message across.  Art does that for people.. it allows absolutely anything, be it recycled or reused or completely fresh and new aged.. to become a piece of art with meaning.  Some people use paint to paint a picture of a landscape, some use paint to draw lines on pavement, and some use paint to cover walls in a house.  But Bolin has a unique use of paint... a use for something entirely new, and different from what has been done before, and my hat goes off to him for it.  His art is brave, is new, is courageous... and it shall be neat to see what others do with this step in the art world.