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Body painting
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Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art, considered by some as the most ancient form of art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most (in the case of Mehndi or "henna tattoo") a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) temporary tattoos; large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work is generally referred to as temporary tattoos.
painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribalist cultures.
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Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art, considered by some as the most ancient form of art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most (in the case of Mehndi or "henna tattoo") a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) temporary tattoos; large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work is generally referred to as temporary tattoos.
Traditional body painting
Body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribalist cultures. Often worn during ceremonies, it still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as Mehndi, using dyes made of henna (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), was and is still practised in India and the Middle East, especially on brides. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young women in the Western world.
Indigenous peoples of South America traditionally use annatto, huito, or wet charcoal to decorate their faces and bodies. Huito is semi-permanent, and it generally takes weeks for this black dye to fade.
Actors and clowns around the world have painted their faces--and sometimes bodies--for centuries, and continue to do so today. More subdued form of face paints for everyday occasions evolved into the cosmetics we know today.
Modern body painting
There has been a revival of body painting in the Western society since the 1960s, in part prompted by the liberalization of social mores regarding nudity. Even today there is a constant debate about the legitimacy of body painting as an art form. The current modern revival could be said to date back to the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago where Max Factor and his model were arrested for causing a public disturbance when he bodypainted her with his new make-up formulated for Hollywood films.
Body art today evolves to the works more directed towards personal mythologies, as Jana Sterbak, Rebecca Horn, Youri Messen-Jaschin or Javier Perez.
Body painting is not always large pieces on fully nude bodies, but can involve smaller pieces on displayed areas of otherwise clothed bodies.
Body painting led to a minor alternative art movement in the 1950s and 1960s, which involved covering a model in paint and then having the model touch or roll on a canvas or other medium to transfer the paint. French artist Yves Klein is perhaps the most famous for this, with his series of paintings 'Anthropometries'. The effect produced by this technique creates an image-transfer from the model's body to the medium. This includes all the curves of the model's body (typically female) being reflected in the outline of the image. This technique was not necessarily monotone; multiple colors on different body parts sometimes produced interesting effects.
Joanne Gair is a leading body paint artist whose work appeared for the tenth consecutive year in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She burst into prominence with a August 1992 Vanity Fair Demi's Birthday Suit cover of Demi Moore.
Body painting is commonly used as a method of gaining attention in political protests, for instance those by PETA against Burberry.
Body painting festivals
Today body painting is huge in both amateur and professional arenas. Body painting festivals happen annually across the world, bringing together professional body painters as well as keen amateurs. Body paintings can also typically be seen at football matches, at rave parties, and at certain festivals. The World Bodypainting Festival in Seeboden in Austria is the biggest art event in the bodypainting theme and thousands of visitors admire the wonderful work of the participants.
Bodypaint festivals that take place in the US include in upstate NY and in Albuquerque, NM.
Fine art body painting
The 1960s supermodel Veruschka is often cited as being many body painters' muse. Her images in the book Transfigurations with photographer Holger Trulzsch have frequently been emulated. Other well-known works include Serge Diakonoff's books A Fleur de Peau and Diakonoff and Joanne Gair's Paint a licious.
Since the early 1990s bodypainting has become more widely accepted in the United States, and more and more body artists are beginning to come onto the national community.
Starting in late 2006 Sacramento art galleries started to use fine art bodypainting as performance art to draw new patrons.
In 2006 the first gallery dedicated exclusively to fine art bodypainting was opened in New Orleans by World Bodypainting Festival Champion and Judge, Craig Tracy. The is on Royal Street in the French Quarter.
Body painting in the commercial arena
Many artists work professionally as body painters across the world. Their work is seen regularly in television commercials, such as the Natrel Plus campaign featuring models camouflaged as trees. Body painters also work frequently in the film arena especially in science fiction with more and more elaborate alien creations being body painted. Stills advertising also used body painting with hundreds of body painting looks on the pages of the world's magazines every year.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, published annually, has in recent years featured a section of models that were body painted, attired in renditions of swimsuits or sports jerseys. Sometimes accessories are used such as bows or buttons. Some allege this allows SI to skirt their own no-nudity guideline.
In the 2005 Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion calendar, all Playmates appeared in the calendar wearing bikinis, but Playmates Karen McDougal and Hiromi Oshima actually appeared in painted on bikinis for their respective months. In October, 2005, the Playboy magazine cover featured a foldout of two models (Sara Jean Underwood and Victoria Thornton) wearing only body paint. The February 2008 cover of Playboy magazine featured Tiffany Fallon body painted as Wonder Woman. These covers and other body paintings done for Hugh Hefner's parties at the Playboy Mansion are created for Playboy by artist Mark Frazier. Michelle Manhart, Playboy model and former Air Force Staff Sergeant, recently posed in body paint for the cover of a 2008 pin-up calendar (published by Operation Calendar).
Face painting
Face painting is the artistic application of cosmetic "paint" to a person's face. There are special water-based cosmetic "paints" made for face painting; people should ask before having face paints applied what products are being used. Acrylic and tempera craft paints are not meant for use on skin and are not acceptable, nor are watercolor pencils or markers. Products not intended for use on skin can cause a variety of issues ranging from discomfort to severe allergic reactions.
From ancient times, it has been used for hunting, religious reasons, and military reasons (such as camouflage and to indicate membership in a military unit). In re-entered the popular culture during the hippie movement of the late 1960s, when it was common for young women to decorate their cheeks with flowers or peace symbols at anti-war demonstrations.
For several decades it has been a common entertainment at county fairs, large open-air markets (especially in Europe and the Americas), and other locations where children and adolescents are. Face painting is very popular among children at theme parks, parties and festivals throughout the Western world. Though the majority of face painting is geared towards children, many teenagers and adults enjoy being painted for special events, such as charity fund raisers.
There are many kinds of face paint, including:
- Designs that include the emblems of favorite sports teams, cartoon characters, and other designs that are "cute" or otherwise appealing to the young.
- Dramatic designs that appeal to all ages.
- Costuming designs which transform the wearer into someone/something completely different, such as Jack Haley's silver face makeup as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
- Designs that endeavor to color the face in such a way to indicate solidarity with a cause, usually the outcome of a sporting contest or membership in a group.
Popular face painting designs include;
- Tiger - This design, in most cases, consists of a body of orange and yellow paint, with black stripes painted on. Details include bushy eye brows and a muzzle or whiskers, alongside a black painted nose.
- Clown - This design, in most cases, consists of a body of white painting. With shapes and features such as a red nose or bright eyes the model is made to take on the features of a circus clown.
- Spiderman - This is a body of red paint with white eyes and spider like black patterns on the models face. Similar to that of the mask worn by Spiderman.
- Dog - Commonly a dalmatian, this design is white with large black spots on the eyes and cheeks. A black nose is added along with whisker pores. A tongue is commonly added to give the effect of the model panting, similar to that of a dog.
- Butterfly - A female design. Consisting of the body of the butterfly being painted on the nose and the wings added across the cheeks. Wing patterns vary.
- Cat - Many designs may feature under this heading. It could be a plain black tabby cat or a wild leopard. Either way, it usually consists of a neutral body of paint with bushy eyebrows and a muzzle.
It is common to find if someone is dressed in an animal costume, a black nose will be added alone to give the impression of an animal face and not just body. Sometimes, a full face is added or sometimes none at all.
Most theme parks have booths scattered around where a person can have a design painted on their face.
A similar activity is the application of "instant tattoos", which are paint or ink-based designs that are put on as one unit and removed by means of water, alcohol, soap, or another mild solvent. More elaborate temporary tattoos may be made using stencils and airbrush equipment. Very recently, "glitter tattoos" have been gaining popularity. These are made by filling a stencil (or freehand painting a design) with prosthetic adhesive then coating the adhesive with cosmetic-grade glitter.
Use in military
It is common in militaries all over the world for soldiers in combat scenarios to paint their faces and other exposed body parts (hands, for example) in natural colors such as green, tan, and loam for camouflage purposes.
Use in Pro Wrestling
Many professional wrestlers paint their faces as part of their costuming.
In the late 1980s, American professional wrestler Steve Borden, under the stagename Sting, wore colourful striped facepaint as part of his ring attire, in the National Wrestling Alliance and later, World Championship Wrestling. In the mid-1990s, the Sting character was modernised along the lines of Brandon Lee's The Crow, with black and white facepaint usually following a pattern similar to that of a scorpion. Upon joining the nWo Wolfpac stable in 1998, the facepaint was temporarily altered to red and black.
In 2002, WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy began utilising facepaint in different variations. Upon being drafted to WWE's RAW brand in 2002, Hardy began wearing neon or ultraviolet body paint, that would glow in its colour under UV lighting placed on the entrance stage. Upon entering TNA Wrestling in 2003, Hardy's facepaint took on a more luminous quality, before being quietly retired in 2006, upon his WWE return. In 2008, Hardy resuming using facepaint as part of his ring attire, this time varyingly influenced by Scandinavian black metal corpse paint, or actor Heath Ledger's rendition of DC Comics' character The Joker in the film The Dark Knight. Hardy continues to use facepaint as a key part of his act, though he no longer wears it in on-screen non-wrestling segments.
Body paints
Modern face and body paints are made according to stringent guidelines, meaning these are non-toxic, usually non-allergenic, and can easily be washed away. These are either applied with hands, paint brush, and natural sea sponge, or alternatively with an airbrush. Contrary to the popular myth perpetuated by the James Bond film Goldfinger, a person is not asphyxiated if their whole body is painted, although wearing body paint for a prolonged period may cause heat stroke by inhibiting perspiration. Liquid latex may also be used as body paint and allows for better perspiration, however care should be taken to avoid the painful removal of hair when the latex is pulled off.
As for Mehndi, natural brown henna dyes are safe to use; however, synthetic black dyes containing PPD can cause serious skin allergies, and should be avoided due to the substantial risk of serious injury. Jagua is a dark indigo plant based dye that is safe to use on the skin and is approved for cosmetic use in the EU.
Whatever the type of body paint (the same is true for cosmetics), should the skin show any sign of allergy, one should immediately cease using it. Moreover, it should not be applied onto open wounds, nor should it be applied too close to the eyes. It is not advisable to use paints or products which have not been formulated for use on the body as these can result in serious allergic reactions.
Manufacturers of widely available professional body and face paint include: Kryolan, Mehron, Snazaroo, Wolfe Face Art & FX, Ben Nye and Fardel.
Hand art
Hand art is the application of make-up or paint to a hand to make it appear like an animal or other object. Some hand artists, like Guido Daniele, produce images that are trompe l'oeil representations of wild animals painted on people's hands.
Hand artists work closely with hand models. Hand models can be booked through specialist acting and modeling agencies usually advertising under "body part model" or "hands and feet models".
Media
Body painting figures prominently in various media.
Film
See also
External links
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