Contemporary art has taken various forms over the last few decades; installations, performances, photography, ready-made objects, documents, they are all examples of elements of art in today's art scene, which is commonly referred to as conceptual art. The metamorphosis of the art object and the artist has transformed the art making to a holistic, interactive process, thus, turning the product to a timeline consisting of making, presenting, comprehending and reinterpreting.
Spencer Tunick is an American artist who has been documenting live nude in public since 1992, by video and photography. He has made large scale installations in various cities in the world, such as Montreal, Barcelona, Melbourne and London and he has been to every continent, from Europe to Antarctica, photographing nude individuals, all in public spaces. Naked World: America Undercover is an HBO documentary presenting the artistic voyage of Tunick in his intercontinental project. It is the second documentary in the series, following Naked States (2000), about Tunick's journey, photographing, throughout United States.
Spencer Tunick has chosen an extremely controversial subject. Nudity may be a very natural concept, however, today, it is considered as a very private matter, not to be shared by public, and this is not an idea of innate closure in only some part of the world, but also in diverse cultures. Therefore, if one dares to challenge one of the biggest notions that had shaped the world throughout centuries, he should have something more to say, other than it is a natural beauty. Unfortunately, Naked World falls behind to expose Tunick's manifestation on the matter. When you see the documentary, you get the idea of the artist doing this only to make something - anything - different, and it is the people who pose for him that add a meaning to this anything, with their own reasons to contribute and their comments. The discussion may go further, as the concept of art production allows the process explained in the previous sentence to be interpreted as contemporary art. However, luckily, the artist himself has more significant declarations than those in the documentary, such as the following, taken from another interview:
Instead of the idea that lies behind this work, what Naked World successfully shows, however, is the reaction of people in the cities Tunick has been to, depending on the cultures and traditions, and there are quite surprising results. For instance, many people may think that France would have been very tolerant to such a stimulating idea, but their reply is a total no, leaving the artist with barely two people accepting to pose, and even in very hard reactions from local authorities. While the uneasiness in cities such as Paris or Tokyo is interesting to see, Tunick's reactions and comments are no more than a complete ignorance, unaware of the cultures he faces with. I would expect him to have made a deeper research about those countries and their traditions, instead of simply packing and going, without a prior comprehension. I believe, had he done that, he would not have accused people of being rude, when they did not even want to listen or speak to him.
Therefore, I seriously suggest you to see this documentary, however, to also make a further research about the artist, since there is so much more to him than that 6-continents voyage images rushed within 1 hour. Only then, you may realize that what he has been trying to do and what he has achieved so far, is so further than the clip of 1993 song Sweet Harmony by The Beloved:
And yes, I may pose for him if I ever bump into him - with my own reasons.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment