More Than 7,000 Gather for Nude Exhibit

Yahoo! News ^ | Sun Jun 8, 8:25 AM ET | SARAH ANDREWS

[chindog]

More Than 7,000 Gather for Nude Exhibit Sun Jun 8, 8:25 AM ET Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!

By SARAH ANDREWS, Associated Press Writer

BARCELONA, Spain - More than 7,000 people gathered at daybreak Sunday and shed their clothes in the morning chill to take part in artist Spencer Tunick's largest work yet — an installation featuring a sea of nude bodies covering a central Barcelona avenue.

The New York native has achieved worldwide renown for his work, which often features large numbers of nude people posing in urban settings. Though he refers to his art as "temporary site-related installations," he is best known for the photographs he takes of these events.

"I want people to feel uncomfortable that they've demonized the body," Tunick said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly before staging his Barcelona installation. "I want them to feel uncomfortable at first and then realize it's just skin. Yes, the body can be a shape."

He called the Barcelona installation a great visual success. "I created a river of bodies like I've never made before. It was an amazing pink and tan carpet."

At 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) people began arriving at Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina, a broad thoroughfare lined with fountains. They undressed in a nearby building and were naked for more than an hour as Tunick had them pose four ways: standing, lying down, curled up in balls and hugging each other.

"For me this represents the fragility of the body," said Joan Alexandre Betriu, 53, a participant who called it a "vital, aesthetic and moral" event.

Irene Mohedano, 34, posed with her 5-month old daughter Irene. "This is a work of art," she said. "It may be my only chance to pose for something like this, so I have to take advantage of it."

Tunick said he uses people as raw materials to change perception of space. "I'm using the body as a substance, an abstraction. If the body is nude in front of a background, it creates a new meaning for the background. It makes you think about the background in a different way."

Barcelona joins London, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Santiago and many other European and South American cities in hosting Tunick.

Sunday's spectacle was his largest yet. Until now his grandest project of this type was an installation involving 4,500 nude people in Melbourne, Australia in 2001.

"In the U.S. they consider the body a crime," said the artist, who has been arrested five times in New York City for working with nudes in public. "In other countries it's celebrated as something special."

Barcelona was particularly accepting of his work, Tunick said, citing praise from Mayor Joan Clos.

Though Tunick insists his work is far removed from commercial nude photography, he recognizes that the fact that he works with nude bodies is a major factor in his success.

"My work is about form, the shape of the body. I'm not creating a provocative photo, I'm saying this is the body you shower with, the body you go to sleep with," he said.

"I've gotten a lot of global recognition because I'm making compelling work that's doing something new with the body. I'm bringing the bodies closer together as substance."

On the Net:

www.spencertunick.com

[ErnBatavia]

and the garlic is so that even the deaf can appreciate my work.

Ah yes....like the punchline to that thirty year old joke as to why there is "essence".....'so the deaf can enjoy them too."

[eddie willers]

[GilesB]

Both photos scream "SHEEPLE"!!!!

[upchuck]

WOW! Neat-O. I made it into the pix. 14th row back 6th from the left. You can tell it's me because of the wart on my back.

[Slings and Arrows]

"What's the cover charge for this show?"

"Ten dollars."

"Here's ten dollars. Cover 'em up."

[eddie willers]

I knew it was you.

[DensaMensa]

Having worked with a few artists I know the one they have in common is not talent, but they are CON MEN. How else could they get people to part with money for their "creations"?

[WFTR]

Liberals studying the issues.

WFTR
Bill

[Goodlife]

[jonefab]

Looks like Wyoming Women to me, Sheepal one and all.

[johnb838]

I hate images of mass nude humans. It reminds me of Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald, Theresienstadt. Though these are obviously better fed.

I don't like it because it makes people look like cattle. Individually it can (at certain appropriate times and places) be beautiful. En masse it's gross.

Did you know that in certain cannibalistic cultures, human bodies are known as "long pig"?

[jonefab]

Must be an outside of Wyoming inside joke. Sorry );

[connectthedots]

To which sect of Islam do these people belong?

[gitmo]

Attain World Peace and Unity through Canine Emulation

The First Annual Doggie Utopia conference was held yesterday, teaching participants to attain world peace and unity by utilizing lessons learned from our canine companions.

Pictured above is the class DU-001, Butt Sniffing. "Butt sniffing is the first step in learning all about your brothers and sisters in the world", explained B.S. Jules, Instructor of Butt Sniffing. "Our Islamic bretheren have been trying to tell us this for millenia."

Says Jack Beeles, a student in DU-001, "After only five minutes of sniffing my lab partner's butt, I knew things about him that even his mother never knew. People have always talked about walking a mile in someones shoes, but try sniffing them for five minutes and you'll never even need to put on their shoes."

Of course, there were the occasional dog fights during the day, but they were nothing a sharp rap on the snout with a newspaper couldn't handle. And for those classmates who "really get carried away" during the exercises, there's always Jules' omnipresent bucket of cold water.

For those circumstances where butt sniffing is impossible, students in DU-002 studied the Etiquette of Fire Hydrants.

And finally, for those liberal participants who have been unable to eradicate all agression in their lives, Doggie Utopia offered DU-003, "Pacifism Through Neutering". "This was especially popular with our transsexual and cross-gendered bretheren" commented Queen Bill, the tutor for DU-003. "We plan a follow up class in San Fransisco as a public service. And remember, you get a $10 discount on you're tags if you're spayed or neutered."

[jonefab]

Wyoming is in some fashion, sheep country, if you look at some of the pictures, they look like a pasture of sheep, at first glance. I can't believe you haven't heard this joke. Well yes I can. Doesn't have a thing to do with the ladies from Wyoming though. Besides, who else would pose for such a pic and look like sheep, get it sheepel.
OK nimrod here's the joke:
.

A ventriloquist happened by a Wyoming rancher
sitting on his porch with his dog:

Cowboy : Hey, cool dog. Mind if I speak to him?
Rancher: This dog don't talk!
Cowboy : Hey dog, how's it going?
Dog : Doin alright
Rancher: (Extreme look of shock)
Cowboy : Is this your owner? (pointing at rancher)
Dog : Yep.
Cowboy : How's he treat you?
Dog : Real good. He walks me twice a day, feeds me great
food, and takes me to the lake once a week to play.
Rancher: (Look of disbelief)

Cowboy : Mind if I talk to your horse?
Rancher: Horses don't talk!
Cowboy : Hey horse, how's it goin?
Horse : Cool.
Rancher: (an even wilder look of shock)
Cowboy : Is this your owner? (pointing at rancher)
Horse : Yep.
Cowboy : How's he treat you?
Horse : Pretty good, thanks for asking. He rides me regularly, brushes me down often, and keeps me in the barn to protect me from the elements.
Rancher: (total look of amazement)
Cowboy : Mind if I talk to your SHEEP?
Rancher: (gesticulating wildly, and hardly able to talk)......
Them sheep ain't nothin but liars!!!