The Art of… Roadlining

When I posted the ‘Art of… Woodturning’ video the other day I think there was a slight disconnect with what I wrote and what I meant. Not because I don’t think that the woodturner at work is mesmerising, because I definitely do; but more that what he is doing in the video is something that would be considered a craft in the traditional sense.

What I mean is when something feels like an artistic endeavour then it is very easy to get lost in what the actions of the person doing it; it’s easy to get a bit flowery and pretentious in discussing what, when it comes down to it, is a demonstration of expertise. In fact when my girlfriend read the blog post she mentioned how it didn’t sound like me. I think she thought I was crapping on like Professor Brain Cox going a bit too far in telling us about an equation being a thing of beauty.

BUT when an activity is something everyday, something you would generally take for granted, the surprise in the artistry is what I was getting at when I wrote how I really enjoy seeing a person just being very good at something.

With that in mind, here a brilliant short film made by Design Studio O Street and film makers Pretend Lovers. It roughly follows a day in the life of a Glaswegian road liner, Thomas ‘Tam’ Lilley. Tam is so good at what he does, enjoy: