When we see a house with a huge colorful epic mural so alive it almost moves, one thing is clear – Etam cru was here.
Under the name Etam Cru created by two Polish artists – Betz and Steiner. It is difficult to write anything more about them, because browsing the Internet yields "only" a thousand and one of their interesting works. Actually, the works speak for themselves. But if we had to describe them, these are two young men in their thirties, who have been creating in washed and colorful jeans, starting in 2009 in Poland, and now also across the pond. They chose the facades of buildings as their canvas, their workplace is an elevator that lifts them up and moves them around the emerging fresco. It is really interesting to watch the videos of how their work is done, which is of huge dimensions, and therefore it is all the more fascinating how detailed each of their stories is shown. They create together and each one creates individually.
The frescoes of the Etam cru duo permeated with fantasy and fairytale elements. There are many forest scenes, action and graphic storytelling. Every part of their murals seems to be in motion, houses and animals come to life, and people appear mostly in unrealistic and fantasy situations. The images are bright, colorful and surreal, the details are incredible, and the whole thing is inspiring. Theirs frescoes they are even so alive that they can be animated, which Betz likes to play with on his blog (www.mgapski.blogspot.com )
One of their last murals was created this summer and went viral on the internet. It's a "strawberry mural," as they called it, and you'll have to fly all the way to Richmond, Virginia to see it live. A quick look shows a woman in a glass of strawberries and strawberry water. If we look more closely, we can see a little bird on the edge of the glass, and if we look even more closely, we can see that something is also happening in the glass itself.
The art of Etam cru it's the kind that requires a person to stand on the street for a few minutes to look at all the incredible details and then create a story. The closest we can feel Etam cru live is in Vienna, at the Brunnenmarkt, where Betz created a woman fishing and thus provided a breath of fresh air in the city.
