A I walked through Times Square, I saw a splash of colour in the distance, and thought, ‘What happened to her face? Oh what a colourful shirt! ‘ … and did a double-take. She was wearing a shirt, right? ummmm … nope.
A model, standing in the middle of Times Square, while her body is being painted. But this is more of Rio, during Carnival rather than New York, went through my mind. Well, apparently not any more.
The artist is Andy Golub, and as I checked out his website, he has been painting bodies for some time now (as well as objects). As I looked through his gallery, the fact that they were nude or semi-nude didn’t register any more. When you look at the whole picture, it just turns into a work of art on a canvas. Some of the art on the painted bodies are amazing, and the art work enhances the features.
I could only stay a short time to watch the transformation. I wonder what the finished ‘painting’ looked like in the end. Enjoy the pictures below.
For those who may be offended at the bared skin and partial nudity, my apologies.
Good weekend, all.
**Update: After a little more research, I have since found out that going topless (male and female) in NYC is legal. But as I had commented before, it is still not widely practised or accepted, as I haven’t seen any females walking around topless – not where I’ve been, anyway. Probably in other parts of the city. Even I cringe inwardly at the thought of females walking around topless.
Andy Golub was arrested last year for violating public exposure and lewdness laws; one of his models was also arrested when she stripped down to her birthday suit while being painted in the middle of Times Square during the day. The charges were dropped, after conditions imposed by the presiding judge. New York’s laws against public exposure exempt “any person entertaining or performing in a play, exhibition, show or entertainment.” In his case, he can continue to paint bodies and bare breasts in public any time and anywhere, but full nudity is allowed only after sunset or dark.
A little bit of this and that ... 
Art is a great excuse to get naked in public. Hehe. No foul intended.
LOL true. Funny enough this is the first time I’ve heard of or seen him. There’s nothing in the news about him. But if art is the excuse, it’s still not widely accepted. One of his models was arrested last year for nudity in public; she sued the police department and won.
But why oh why disturb art creation. Darn rules of society. I’m glad she won the battle to freedom of expression.
correction: she was arrested last year, but the charges were dropped, so in a way she won. She just filed a suit against the NYPD last week; that one is not resolved yet.
Looks more like paint by the numbers than art. The spectacle made the art seem relevant not the other way around.
LOL It does look like that, but I didn’t see any numbers or tracing. I suspect that from this abstract painting will emerge a whole image that will all come together. If you look at his other paintings on his website, several painted bodies positioned together make a whole picture. Thanks for stopping by.