Hundreds of Bodies Found by River
say "cheese"(click to enlarge)Sunday September 11
Hundreds of naked bodies - all different ages and shapes, were found in the open air today. The bodies appeared to have been dumped in a shipping-container terminal near the docks and by a river next to a forest.
Contemporary American installation artist Spencer Tunick managed to get hundreds of volunteers to take their clothes off and pose en plein air for his camera.
The shoot took place in Lyon - France's second biggest city and the old capital of Roman Gaul - long renowned for its restaurants and gastronomy. Participants registered on line weeks ago and were given a location and specific instructions to follow. Parental authorization was required for those under 18 years old. Those over 80 were requested to bring their own oxygen bottles and carers (no...I made that up).
I’m all for this sort of thing. Look at the Botticelli or Rubenesque figures on some of these babes! But one thing bothers me... (and if you're under 18 you need parental authorization to read on) What if you cracked a fat on the shoot - a stiffy? I mean, is that bad form, or what? Does an assistant rush up and throw iced water over the offending member? Or do they stop the proceedings...”You there...yes you with the flagpole...either put it away or leave the set.”
The event was part of the Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art.
In exchange for taking part, the nudies will receive a limited edition print of the installation.
Spencer Tunick has staged 65 of these events all over the United States, Canada, Austria, Spain and Brazil. This was his first in France. I wonder if he’ll make it down under? Are you game to take part if he does?
The link for the Biennale is here – http://www.biennale-de-lyon.org/tunick/intro_eng.htm
For more installations go here - http://www.spencertunick.com
Malcolm Lambe
click to enlarge Seems I'm off the pace. Spencer Tunick has done Downunder. Specifically Melbourne. In 2002. My brother Philip Lambe has just sent me this LINK Check it out. Sheep in a paddock or what! Sensational stuff. I love this guy. Thanks again Phil for the tip!
Spencer Tunick
November 1 2002
Spencer Tunick's Melbourne 2, shot at Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens.
SPENCER TUNICK
Where Gow Langsford, 2 Danks Street, Waterloo
When Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm, until November 13
More information 9699 1279
Spencer Tunick's images of mass nakedness reveal much more than just skin, writes Peter Hill.
Don't miss this exhibition. You may have seen images in the press of thousands of naked bodies adorning the streets, bridges and parks of Melbourne, all photographed by New York photographer Spencer Tunick. But it is not until you stand in front of them that you appreciate how big they are, how witty and how powerful. Had picture editors placed a human figure next to one of these works, readers would immediately appreciate their true scale.
So who is Spencer Tunick? According to The New Yorker magazine: "Before he became known for his elaborate and controversial photo 'happenings' staging shots of hundreds of naked people in tourist sites around the world Tunick was a photography assistant to his father, shooting banquets and other events in upstate New York. These portraits have a wonderful eye for period detail and a tongue-in-cheek humour, echoed by a bowl of equally wizened pickles on a table."
The display at Gow Langsford in Sydney is the first time these images (The Melbourne Photographs) have been shown as an exhibition anywhere in the world. A year ago 4000 people braved the "wizened pickle" stakes to pose naked in the centre of Melbourne. You can see them draped along the banks of the Yarra, or lined up along Spencer Street in what can only be described as a river of pink flesh. The occasional tattoo can be spotted some naked figures even appear frighteningly familiar while the architecture of the city and its parklands work as a dynamic framing device.
As with many artists, he started small. He began by photographing one naked individual, then moved from US state to state until he had someone, or perhaps a couple, from every state in the country. His current project nudeadrift involves photographing thousands of people at a time in Canada, Japan, Europe, Australia, South America and can you believe it Antarctica? How wizened was that one?
When I first heard of this project, I wasn't impressed. It sounded a bit like an over-obvious undergraduate art school performance that didn't even warrant a sell-by date.
When I later saw a television documentary about his work I became a little more interested, but was still not convinced. Having visited the gallery and experienced the scale of these images and their emotive impact, I must say I am impressed.
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