Last year was the first NYC Bodypainting Day, an event where dozens of models met up with dozens of artists, flown in from all over the country and all over the world, to paint on human canvases in public. It was such a success that this year it more than doubled in size, with over 100 models of all shapes and sizes, genders, races, colors, ages, physical abilities, and other attributes all getting naked together on a beautiful East Side street a few blocks from the United Nations, to get painted head-to-toe under the sun.
Needless to say, we were happy to be part of the fun, with several of our members (and a few long-time friends of the family) contributing their bodies to the general celebration.
And what an absolute joy it was! Even with hundreds of onlookers and a police presence (protective of us, but still), nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the participants, and a more cordial, well-behaved, kind and good-natured bunch you couldn’t imagine. And despite more than a hundred bared sets of genitalia exposed to the eyes of all passers-by, the city didn’t crumble, God didn’t smite us (it didn’t even rain, the way it had been threatening to!), and life only became a little freer, a little happier, and a little richer.
One step at a time. But this was a big one.
(P.S. Our thanks to all the wonderful photographers who covered the event and posted their pictures of us online for the world to see. We normally shoot all our own photos, but this time around none of us had any place to carry a camera! We got a few cellphone shots of our own, but for good quality images we’re dependent on the many talented and generous non-painter artists who made the day so special.)
I belong to this blog or group primarily I was interested in what they were reading. 60/40. They don’t usually do this. Take a close look at all the photos. Some details are pretty interesting.
David
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I may not know art, but I know what I like. Looks like a fun-filled day. Congratulations.
I was signed up to be a model … But had to back out due to a conflict with a close friend’s wedding. So sad I wasn’t there!
I wish I had known beforehand that some of you were going to be there. I was a model too (the guy with the “Batman” back piece). I would have loved to have met you. Ah, well, there’s always next year. Glad you were there. It was such a great day!
You looked amazing! Spiderman on your chest and Hulk on your legs, right? We loved it.
That’s right. Thank you! Everyone loved what my artist did. I was happy to give Batman a temporary hangout and felt lucky to get paired with that artist. Lots of “Hey, turn around” requests. The only problem is that you never know when someone has finished taking their photo. More than a few do-overs.
We were painting down by the Photo Booth and I got to see a constant stream of models. I’d think, “No one can top that paint job” and then a new model would come along for their photo who did just that. Stunning work.
I don’t think many realized how much world-class art talent was there who had to pay to participate instead of being paid. Think about that – top talent put down an entry fee to be there. And the distances some people traveled. My artist and his girlfriend drove from San Antonio just to do this. At registration, I was speaking to a woman who came from New Orleans to paint. This amazes me. In just two years, Bpdypainting Day has become a “must do” event for live-canvas artists across the nation.
Hell of a bus ride and after-party too, eh? Two years in a row and no one got hit in the head with a low hanging traffic signal. I’d say that was pretty successful too.
San Antonio and New Orleans are impressive, but wait — the woman who painted one of us came all the way from Latvia! This really is a worldwide, not just nationwide, event.
A Lat painting your lats. Impressive. I defer to you. If there were a geography sweepstakes, you’d win. We’ll have to recruit someone from Siberia or Outer Mongolia for next year.
ah… You mean after following your blog for some years, I’m in the same crowd as you and didn’t realize it? I was there being painted as well (I would have been jsut to the right of the 6th picture)
I was lucky enough to be out there with my camera. I haven’t had the time to work through my shots yet but if you’d like to look for any models in particular, let me know — I’d be happy to share!
Thanks! If you have any that look like one of our members, we’d love to see them! If you’re not sure, you can look for the people shown in this post. They’re not all our members, but many of them are. 🙂
GREAT!!!!!!!!!!
amazing………
http://gothamist.com/2015/07/19/nsfw_photos_100_fully_naked_people.php#photo-1
i was one of the few who made this event possible by donating to the kickstarter
i’ve never been to NY
Yes, we donated to the Kickstarter as well. Thank you for your support!
http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/bodypainting-day-transforms-nude-forms-into-art-nsfw-7393283
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Delightful, extraordinary, exquisite!