Joe Mangrum's works of art are spontaneous and truly amazing

May 12, 2014 17:39 GMT  ·  By
Artist creates amazing sand paintings on pavements and wooden floors
6 photos
   Artist creates amazing sand paintings on pavements and wooden floors

Talented artist Joe Mangrum has spent long and tiring hours drawing beautiful sand patterns and designs on the streets of New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities of the world to delight passers-by with his temporary paintings.

To create his amazing spontaneous works of art, Joe uses colored sand, flowers, wheatgrass and other found objects. Normally, he spends between 6 to 8 hours to complete a painting and doesn't need any tools, as he pours the brightly colored sand from his hands.

“I buy commercially manufactured sand from Canada and each painting is spontaneously improvised. People have fun watching me and ask all sorts of intelligent questions. It’s something for all ages to enjoy,” Mangrum said, as cited by Metro.

Since 2006, the artist – who is a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago – has made over 650 pieces that have been seen both in galleries and in public places, but they have all faded away with time.

Many have said that his work resembles traditional Buddhist mandalas, as just like the Tibetan monks, Mangrum considers sand painting to be a spiritual practice and a political statement.

“Each grain really represents a being or living thing, you know? Metaphorically, then you've got billions of living things and they're all working together to create something beautiful,” he said in an interview.

"Asynchronous Syntropy" a "Swept Away project" at Museum of Arts and Design NYC from joe Mangrum on Vimeo.

Sand Paintings by Artist Joe Mangrum (6 Images)

Artist creates amazing sand paintings on pavements and wooden floors
Joe Mangrum's works of art are spontaneous and truly amazingSand Paintings by Artist Joe Mangrum
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