Artist Chris Carlson lives in Denver. He is a Nuggets fan. He may not have been the most obvious choice to paint a mural in Los Angeles based on a Lakers legend.
“My relationship with the Lakers is complicated,” Carlson told The Times in an email interview. “Being from Denver and growing up as a Nuggets fan, I watched the Lakers knock us out of the playoffs every season during the [Carmelo Anthony] years.”
Carlson is, however, a huge admirer of Kobe Bryant, so he jumped at the chance to paint a Nike-commissioned mural highlighting Bryant and his Black Mamba persona beside the Venice Beach basketball courts.
“I am definitely a Kobe fan!” Carlson wrote. “His skills were unmatched and his work ethic was inspirational. A lot of his philosophies about working toward being a better athlete can be applied to becoming a better artist. Things like embracing discomfort and pushing past your perceived limits really resonated with me.”
Carlson and Indiana-based artist Nate Baranowski finished painting the larger-than-life mural this month. It shows Bryant with a fierce scowl on his face. A giant snake appears to burst through the painting and wrap itself around Bryant, with their heads ending up side by side. The top features Nike’s Swoosh logo and the slogan: “This isn’t the year of the snake. This is the year of the Mamba.”
Mike Asner, who runs the KobeMural.com website, posted a video of the mural on the site’s Instagram page this week and the post blew up, garnering 2 million views and 187,000 likes in three days.
“That’s not normal,” said Asner, who estimates a typical post featuring a Bryant mural gets between 150,000 and 300,000 views and 10,000 to 15,000 likes.
Asner said he thinks people are attracted to “the realism and 3D nature” of the mural.
“People went crazy over this one,” Asner said. “I’ve never seen people go this crazy over a mural.”
Here is more from The Times’ interview with Carlson. The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
How did this project come about?
Nike contacted me about creating this mural in Venice Beach. They had an idea to incorporate a 3D illusion and trompe l’oeil effects into a Kobe mural they were planning, and since optical illusion murals are my specialty they reached out to me. I loved their concept and I was thrilled when they selected me for the project.
What inspired the design?
The design started with the black mamba (the snake). I wanted the snake to be wrapping around the portrait of Kobe in a way that shows the two are linked and forever connected. Having the mamba breaking through the wall helps to create a feeling of intensity and power that I really wanted to capture in the mural. It’s like Kobe and the mamba are challenging us to be the best versions of ourselves. The architectural elements in the corners are the Kobe logo. I think they help pull the viewers’ eyes into the middle of the mural.
How did people respond while you were working on it?
The reactions from people on the courts while we painted were amazing! As soon as people saw that it was a Kobe mural, the excitement started building. It was one of my favorite painting experiences because of all the encouragement we got from the public while we painted.
How does this project differ from your usual work?
This is my largest mural to date, so that brings some different challenges. But it also allows the artwork to have a bigger visual impact. I’m also not usually painting in such a famous location. It was an honor to paint a mural featuring an iconic person like Kobe Bryant in an iconic location like the Venice Beach basketball courts.