The Naked City (NSFW, Sort Of)

I have been reading through the excellent Lonely Planet travel book on Finland this week in preparation for my trip Friday. Mostly, I will be winging it out on the highway but it will be nice to know something about the nearby towns to help me decide which road to take sometimes.

The internets have been helpful too and I came across an interesting page that only briefly mentions Helsinki. It is a picture page of some of the curious public art photos of Spencer Tunick.

I didn't know his name but have certainly heard about the man who has been traveling the world for more than twenty years taking pictures of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of nude people.

Here are just a few of them, starting with Santiago, Chile.

Now London, England, not that you can tell.

Melbourne, Australia.

And Central Park, New York City, USA.

I like boobies as much as the next guy - more, if the next guy is Ryan Seacrest -  but these photos do not particularly speak to me at all. They are sort of interesting I guess but not really seem to be more effort than they are worth.

Here is the link to see more and some final thoughts from Mr. Tunick.

""A body is a living entity. It represents life, freedom, sensuality, and it is a mechanism to carry out our thoughts. A body is always beautiful to me. It depends on the individual work and what I do with it and what kind of idea lies behind it - if age matters or not. But in my group works, the only difference is how far people can go if it rains, snows etc.”

Comments

[Raul]

I never really understood those naked pics as well. It doesn't look as much as art as it does an orgy...

Anywho, have a blast in Finland and have a safe trip. Be sure to check out the World Sauna Championship if its going on while you are there.

[Nicole]

you know i love photography, but i agree, those pics are rather blah. i WISH it was an orgy - those people look dead in the last ine, and the the one in melbourne, well look up at the wrong time and get a big ol' butt crack in the face. yuck. not good.

[John E]

If you're interested in seeing more of Tunick's work, check out the documentary called "Naked World". It plays on cable from time to time.

[db]

dude- that looks a like like Auschwitz

[Rochelle]

The Grand Central Station pic is nice. I guess because they are upright and going somewhere. Many where they're laying down look like a massacre or some kind.

[cathy g.]

just a bunch of boobies to me...

[Gwen]

Are you kidding? You people are just looking at the bodies themselves and not what he is trying or not trying to represent. You'd be HAPPIER if it WAS an orgy? I'm sorry, but obviously you don't really look into the real "art world." Maybe you think porn is an art form? I'm not an artist and will never attest to be one or someone well-versed in art, but seriously. Think about it. These pictures depict just a very small population from one city and look at how much space they can take up. When you compare it to the background of the HUGE BUILDINGS... I honestly don't even know how to explain this. He's trying to show that we all are beautiful creatures, not just Jenna Jameson. So...go back to your porn I guess. Don't try to undermine something you can't understand.

[Matt L.]

ok, not to be the typical guy here but, i wonder, how do the men in these photos (if they are mixed sexes) not occasionally let their flag fly??

damn, that was a long run, but today's post has a typo:
more effort tha they are worth
also, is "internets" correct?
The internets have been

[Rose]

What strikes me about Spencer Tunick's work is not so much the photography itself, as it is the act of getting so many people to volunteer to participate in a huge piece of public art. There's no individual glory to it - each model is just an anonymous piece of the whole. The photos are documentation that people deliberately came together to create something ephemeral.

That, or that we like looking at naked people.

I have it on good authority that Finland has great pony trekking and camping. And by "good authority" I mean a Monty Python song.

[Frances]

I agree. This is the sort of artwork that strikes me as interesting in theory, but in practice doesn't "work".

[Suzy]

I understand how the human body can be beautiful and have art made from it... but this does indeed look like Auschwitz. at least if it was an orgy they would look happier.

[John E]

Jenna Jameson - beautiful? WTF? At one time, sure, but now she looks like an alien. Make that, an alien that was genetically crossed with a fish, and a really ugly fish at that. Even Joan Rivers could tell Jenna to bark for her these days. WOOF

[Anonymous]

If I were one of the naked people posing for a photograph, I'd be worried about the smell.