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Toyota Teases and Pleases With 3D Anamorphic Sculpture

04.10.19 | By
Toyota Teases and Pleases With 3D Anamorphic Sculpture

It’s sad, but true: our eyes and minds have become a cynical lot, so accustomed to computer graphics, we’re quick to assume images like these are all digitally created. But in this instance, an artist’s hand deserves credit: Michael Murphy hand-painted 200 pieces and placed them to form a captivating illusionary tease for the 2020 Toyota Highlander just ahead of its 2019 New York International Auto Show debut.

Murphy’s installation for the upcoming Toyota Highlander update does owe some credit to the computer; initial planning began with a 3D model created from the artist and sculptor’s Brooklyn studio nearly 2 months before work constructing the physical sculpture began. But the bulk of the work was a physical affair, requiring two days and a team of eight to strategically place each unique element to form an enormous mobile that fools the eye into seeing much more than what’s evident at first glance.

Each of the 200 floating pieces not only come together to form the stylized silhouette of the Toyota SUV from the side, but also reveals a dimensional reveal of the the vehicle from the front and back as viewing angles are altered, a clever way for the Japanese automotive brand to reveal something before its scheduled April 17th New York debut without revealing too much.

Other works showing Murphy’s acumen for anamorphic art can be seen over at his own site, PerceptualArt.com or his IG feed over at @Perceptual_Art.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.