The Annual World Bodypainting Festival

July 27, 2013 8:42 PM

The annual World Bodypainting Festival is now over, but that means there are a ton of new images online, with galleries for each of the award categories, including brush/sponge bodypainting, airbrush bodypainting, special effects bodypainting, and facepainting. (Note: painted [mostly] naked bodies; previously, a decade ago)
posted by filthy light thief (10 comments total)

I am slack jawed looking at these gorgeous photos. Like wow. Also, how cool is the headgear??
posted by oceanjesse at 11:04 PM on July 27, 2013

Agreeing with oceanjesse. I won't even wear a bathing suit in public but I'd totally sport some of that crazy body paint.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 12:26 AM on July 28, 2013

It's interesting how something that looks so impressive on a person would look so damn tacky on a van. (see also: Truck Nuts)

I definitely prefer the ones that incorporate the body into the overall image (I.e. the body itself is integral to the design) as opposed to many of them which just seem to be "airbrushed murals that happen to have been painted on people."

I dare not show these to my wife, as she's in no need of a new hobby like this, thank you. (she just got a new airbrush makeup kit. It's...messy)
posted by ShutterBun at 12:44 AM on July 28, 2013 [2 favorites]

I love these. So amazing. Thank you.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:43 AM on July 28, 2013

There's a bodypainting show on community TV but it seems like an excuse to show naked people.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:42 PM on July 28, 2013

I agree that there is some amazing work, but why are there so few male bodies used as a creative canvas? I really wanted to see what could be done using a male's torso as opposed to a women's torso.

Why is the female nude the default here?
posted by BlueHorse at 7:46 PM on July 28, 2013 [2 favorites]

I honestly think of bodypainting as more about tittilation than art.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 9:08 PM on July 28, 2013

I wasn't saying that the female canvas was being used in a titillating manner, I was asking why is the female canvas so prevalent? The majority of the art isn't any celebration of sexuality--I was actually struck by how many references to death I could spot as well as the asexuality of much of it. Would that same asexual painting have the same emotive response if done on a man? It's not even a 75/25 split with women/men. I find that curious.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:31 PM on July 28, 2013

I went up to Vancouver to play at a event there which involved a body painting contest. It definitely involved more males, for whatever reason.

Still a significant minority, but more!
posted by flaterik at 10:52 PM on July 28, 2013

BlueHorse: I wasn't saying that the female canvas was being used in a titillating manner, I was asking why is the female canvas so prevalent? The majority of the art isn't any celebration of sexuality--I was actually struck by how many references to death I could spot as well as the asexuality of much of it. Would that same asexual painting have the same emotive response if done on a man? It's not even a 75/25 split with women/men. I find that curious.

I'd guess there's a similar ratio in nude females/nude males in paintings overall, so the same forces are at work - there's something of a bias in the art world that naked woman are beautiful, while naked men are naked.

For every David, there's 3 Venus Rising from the Seas.
posted by IAmBroom at 6:49 PM on August 6, 2013 [1 favorite]