Here’s a Reuters article entitled, “Thousands of Mexicans strip for Tunick photo shoot”.
Why would this interest me? Well, first off, I know that it’s hard to get 18,000 (the reported number of naked folks) people to do anything at the same time. I mean, here in the states we have major recording artists like, say The Dixie Chicks, who have a hard time getting that many people to show up at an event. Sure, you regularly see more people at major sporting events but this is 18,000 naked people.
So, this guy, Spencer Tunick, wanders around the planet taking pictures of naked people. He has done a lot of these shoots in many locations. I’ve been vaguely aware of him but, I guess, I didn’t realize the impact of what he’s doing. I’m not really sure what the impact is but, once again, 18,000 people showed up.
One thing I’m wondering is, do most of these people know who Tunick is, and support his work or, are there that many people that have a burning desire to get naked in public?
Frankly, either scenario is a surprise to me. Not a shock but, a little surprising. I say not a shock because; naked people are not a new idea. The nude has been a subject since the beginning of artistic expression.
Is 18,000 naked Mexicans art? I think that the definition of art is a personal matter. My own definition is pretty wide open. If somebody creates something that makes me react in some way, physical, emotional, spiritual, negative or positive then, to me, it’s art. For example, the first time I saw a Rothko painting in a museum it made my gut churn, for some reason; it blew me away on an instant physical level. If a painting can do that, I think it must be pretty powerful. Now, a lot of people I know, would see the same painting and think it’s silly.
Anyway, I decided to do a cursory bit of research on Spencer Tunick; try to figure out his motive. I found an old article, with an interview, that this quote comes from…
As of the ’90s, I’m working with the nude outdoors in the public space, feeling that the body is a dignified object that can complement the outside world, not degrade it. My only situation was trying to work in New York during the ’90s, and at the same time being celebrated in South America, Europe and Australia. And all the arrests that took place [due to the nude installations] were illegal, because in New York State, there’s no law against making an art work nude, so my lawyer filed a federal lawsuit in New York. We won at every stage, so it went to the Supreme Court, and Justice Ginsberg looked at my work and decided that I could make my work on the street, and remanded the case back to the federal courts. So I was upheld and the city had to pay a fine and wasted a lot of the taxpayers’ money. This was the same time that [New York Mayor Rudolph] Guiliani was running against [now Senator] Hillary Clinton, so it was very politicized.
So, it seems that, at least part of his objective, is social and political in nature. Social in a, how does this world at this time react to nudity way. Political in a, will taking pictures of naked people, rattle the cage way.
So, it seems that he has been successful in both those areas. He also either intuitively knew or, stumbled onto the fact that people want to get naked. I don’t know if he is a documentarian or an artist or social commentator but, I haven’t seen his work first hand. Frankly, I’m not too jazzed about going to an exhibit but, you know, I’d seen those Rothko paintings in books and wasn’t interested in his stuff until I walked around a corner and was confronted with it.
Each to his own, I beleive, so, rave on Spencer Tunick and naked people.
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Tags: Spencer Tunick
Roger Coss wrote,
Hello Pribek,
When I first hear Spencer Tunick was coming to Cleveland I was not too impressed. I had heard of his free speech issues in the 90’s but hadn’t paid much attention after. I looked up his works on line and saw a few small photos of group nudes sprawled about. Then I saw an individual nude he had done of a young woman in Chile. She was not a standard “art nude” but a strong woman, standing with crutches, showing a tremendous spririt. Wow! I was impesssed and have since posed for Spencer many times. To see some of his works go to the I-20 Gallery(NYC) site or the i8 Gallery in Iceland where he currently has a showing(www.i8.is). These works will still be small representations of his large works, but will give you an idea of his art, as opposed to the news photos which just catch small glimpses. We also have a site for Spencer Tunick fans or those who want to see more of his art, including his lesser known individual works. The Spencer Tunick Forum at http://wwww.spencertunickforum.org
Roger
Link | May 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 am
Pat wrote,
In addition to the discussions:
I think the artist, Tunick, has been affected by the cultural divide. He is building the structure for globalization. Many artists are concerning themselves with state-of-their-art as it is introduced to international broadcasting. You said it J: Artists sense things long before things happen. “…If somebody creates something that makes me react in some way, physical, emotional, spiritual, negative or positive then, to me, it’s art.”
So I took a look/look at this: Monday, January 14, 2008
Thirteen, Richard K. Morgan http://thougtfulquotes.blogspot.com/2008/01/thirteen-richard-k-morgan_4056.html
Art tends to define its own moral compass as it moves along. To be non-adaptive is unacceptable to real artists. Yes, laws do sustain the fortresses of our fabulous institutional strongholds. Fear to test and confront laws is fear enough for most of us. But in Tunick’s discovery he sees “xenophobia” of this type is a handicap.
Conclusion: I would say: Nudity in public display is the rebar of globalization and interdependance.
Recognizing the adjustment needed in the moral compass; that is art.
So, lesson is — don’t ask a global-economics-pundit about golobalization. Ask rather Tunick. or Rothko, or Alex Grey… There are others long before these masters, including youse guys!
Thanks for the great discussion Roger. …and you too ya big Boheme.
>pd
Pat’s last blog post..Writers’s Mollified, almost
Link | February 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm