The Boatmen

Title: The Boatmen
Year: 2014
Artist: John Pugh, Truckee, CA
Assisted by: Annie Pugh, Abigail Penfold, Fernanda Gonzalez, Mathew Osgood, and Mark Molchan
Location: Art Alley, 112 South I Street on the north side of building.

John Pugh is internationally known for his large trompe-l’oeil murals. Trompe l’oeil is French for “deceive the eye” and refers to an art technique using realistic imagery to create an optical illusion. The depicted objects appear to exist in three-dimension.

Description: The mural presents three distinct eras of naval history and a watercraft for each. The prow of a Navy vessel – similar to the ones lost in the 1923 Honda Point disaster is bursting from the wall. Within that giant gray boat a cross section reveals the woodwork of a Spanish galleon used to traverse the California Coast, and another cross section reveals a canoe manned by Chumash Indians.