Body painting (body painting, body art) Automatic translate

High art? A salon service? Modern body-painting is both. The human body under the brush of a master can become a real masterpiece, and the master can be you yourself…

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Civilization has done away with the primitive fine arts, but it has not been able to do away with them altogether - body art has become the domain of mankind’s long-known ways of decorating their own bodies. There is a misconception that body art is just an artistic painting of the face and body. In fact, this trend is much wider and includes piercing, scarification (scarring), breeding (branding), tattooing and body-painting (from English body - body, painting - painting). It is body-painting that is most often confused with body art, offering a corresponding service in salons. In order for you to be able to freely navigate in this area, we will examine in detail the modern concept of bodypainting - from theoretical issues to existing techniques.

PHILOSOPHY

There is probably no art more “imperishable” than body painting: a masterpiece that delights others disappears without a trace in the shortest time. True, this circumstance has never affected the popularity of body-painting - its history, numbering many millennia, serves as a confirmation of this. However, modern body painting owes its “second birth” to the avant-garde and postmodern, which proclaimed the human body an object of art. And art, as we know, is applied and “high”. Body-painting, which exists in two hypostases: conceptual shows and salon service for “advanced” clientele, is no exception. Each direction, of course, is worthy of a separate description, as there are much more differences than similarities between them. And we will begin, of course, with “high”.

BODY-CONCEPT

While civilized Europe and the no less civilized West were mastering the applied trend, offering body painting as a fundamentally new kind of evening make-up, in Russia they went, as always, in a special way. And the first example of body-painting in our country was the sensational action “of the Mitki” called “Geography” (girls painted with theatrical make-up were laid on canvas, then the resulting “paintings” were framed and exhibited for public viewing). Perhaps that’s why we have not taken root until the end “mass” perception of body design - you must agree, it is hard to imagine a more unsuccessful start for the promotion of salon services than such an epathetic performance. So Russian body-painting became an indispensable attribute of spectacular shows and conceptual actions, turning almost exclusively into “high” art.

However, the paradox is that such events in our country, unlike the recognized leaders of body-painting - France and the USA, are practically not held. Moreover, in the spring of 2002 the national championship, which had gathered dozens of specialists from all over the country in Moscow for two years in a row, was canceled. So now the rare opportunity to demonstrate their vision of the world to the general public body designers are offered only by large firms and companies holding presentations of new brands, or well-known exhibitions on specialized subjects.

It is difficult to say anything more specific about this area of bodypainting (for example, about techniques, themes and so on) - about the same as writing a textbook “Become a Van Gogh in three days”. It may sound too pompous, but like any art, it requires talent and vocation first and foremost. If you feel strong enough to pursue this kind of conceptual art, you will find your own way. The only thing that is perhaps worth elaborating on is the question of choosing a model whose body serves as both a canvas “and a source of inspiration”.

“MODEL” SERIES

It is not enough for a bodypainting model to have a young, beautiful body. It happens and vice versa - imperfection of lines and forms combined with an unusual plot leads to the birth of a real masterpiece. However, the impression of this kind of art is formed not only from the beauty of the artist’s idea embodied on the skin. The most important thing here is to create a whole image, because these “works of art” are always shown in motion. Therefore, the model for body-painting requires, first of all, a creative approach and outstanding acting skills, and her work begins long before the show - discuss the plot and semantic content of the drawing, music, gestures…

Girls - professional models, dancers, actresses or theater students - are best suited for this role: they move well, which is important for the show, and have stamina, which is of great importance for the painting process and the subsequent performance. The female body is generally considered more expressive than the male body, it is more embossed and, importantly, erotic. And this cannot be denied: body-painting initially carries a certain “corporeality”, which is in constant contradiction with spirituality, the semantic “message” of the artist. Specialists point out that this is a very thin line, crossing which it is easy to turn real art into veiled striptease. However, they also claim that there is absolutely no erotic component in the process of painting: the girl is treated as a canvas or a piece of jewelry. And this is not surprising, because the painting stage requires truly angelic patience from the model.

Complex drawing is applied sometimes up to 5-b hours, and she spends most of the time standing: you can not sit down for a minute or make sudden movements. Then she faces an equally difficult test - “a stage test” - after which the difficulties do not end: the paints used for this art form have to be washed off under the shower for a long time. What is offered here in return? It is difficult to say. The model’s name never appears in the shows, because she is just a material for creation, which has a limited “shelf life”. Only young skin has the best properties “of a canvas”, so when choosing a model, not only the external parameters and the ability to create an image, but also the age is always taken into account. However, despite everything, conceptual bodypainting does not lose its appeal in their eyes. Perhaps it is because the very process of painting carries a certain psychological release.

It is not without reason that art therapy has long been considered one of the offshoots of the conceptual movement, which helps to cope with a variety of problems, including physical rejection of oneself and sexual disorders. Symbolic images on one’s own body give an outlet for negative energy and emotions, allow one to look at the world in a different way…

However, this “medal” has an opposite side, which equally applies to both conceptual and applied body-painting. Therefore, before proceeding to describe salon services in this area, a few words should be said about it.

OF GOD OR OF THE DEVIL?

The main idea of any bodypainting service is body painting, which makes a person an integral part of the master’s concept, his creative vision. And it does not matter whether this service is performed for a private client or is intended for a stylish show - each work of body painting, depicted on such an unusual “canvas”, carries a certain energy. This is the first thing to think about before you start working in this field: figuratively speaking, you will always be responsible for the ideas and images generated by your imagination. Professionals do not consider it mysticism: in body-painting for a long time there are unspoken forbidden topics - for example, a pronounced devil symbolism, especially made in black and white style. Why, you can guess for yourself….

IN THE PARLOR

Moving on to the peculiarities of salon body-painting, it should be noted at once that the range of images here depends first of all on the wishes of the clientele, and only secondly - on the creative vision of the body-designer providing this service. Although, of course, his work involves both assistance in choosing a drawing and direct creativity.

It should be taken into account that such a service is demanded mainly by women. The right approach, that is, positioning body-painting as a memorable detail of evening makeup, provides and normal workload of the master in the salon. A constant success here is the painting of a small area on the cheeks or open shoulders, back, arms, on the line of décolletage, on the ankles. Among the drawings prevail, as a rule, floral, ethnic motifs or animal images.

It should be borne in mind that the correct, professional body-painting assumes a mandatory combination with impeccable makeup, which implies the use of only a basic foundation (up to 5 tones at the same time!) and mascara, which should not overshadow, but only emphasize the expressiveness of the drawing. Therefore, you can safely count on the simultaneous provision of two services, because without the help of a professional makeup artist, a woman who wants to perform painting, can not do without.

Another peculiarity of salon body-painting is related to the time of year: in summer there are more clients, in winter there are practically none. The highest peak of its popularity, including among men, body-painting reaches only a few times a year - body designer painted “valentines” in love on Valentine’s Day, turns those who want to monsters and other evil on Halloween and comes up with funny drawings for participants of carnivals held on City Day. However, some men can become clients of a professional body designer not only in this period: they can safely offer drawings on the rocker theme, which will allow you to look stylish at such parties.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PRICE

Ordinary makeup artists working in beauty salons very seldom possess special body painting techniques. In this case, you can offer clients to apply complex makeup with elements of painting (in Moscow this service costs from 50 to 150 dollars).

The cost of the work of a real body designer directly depends on its volume. If the drawing is applied with the help of a ready-made stencil, - for example, imitates Brabant lace on the neck and neckline - it is estimated at about 150 dollars. Complex drawings that require preliminary sketches and even fitting (!), - say, angel wings on the back or silver and pearlescent scales of a mermaid, net thrown over the body - should cost twice as much.

TECHNIQUE
A serious approach to body-painting involves several hours of continuous work by the master, and one must be prepared for this in advance. In addition to purely technical aspects, you need inspiration and, strange as it may sound, attunement to the client’s wave.

As a rule, everything starts with a sketch on paper, in which not only interesting creative findings are important, but also the relief of a particular human body - how the drawing “will lie” on the skin, what volumetric effects it will create. Even some skin imperfections (birthmarks, pimples, etc.) can suggest unexpected creative ideas and variants of their use in the process of painting. At this stage, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of plastic movements, and style accents: painting can and should become a continuation of the image as a whole, including clothing, makeup and hairstyle of the person. But at the same time try not to copy someone else’s drawing and its style. What looks good on one person, can be completely “lost” on another. After all, everything depends very much on the features of the body structure, color and taste preferences of the client, his energy.

It is also necessary to remember that the coloristics of this “live picture” should look expressive and effective in a particular situation for which the client decided to body-painting - in the evening or daylight, in a chamber or, conversely, crowded environment, including the nuances of color superimposition.

After the drawing is agreed upon with the client, it is finally transferred to the skin. Before starting work, the area to be painted is thoroughly cleaned and dried, as the longevity of the body painting depends on this. Some experts also consider it necessary to pre-prime the skin with a special colorless aqua paint, however, in the salon body-painting it is by no means a dogma. In the same way professionals treat the existing practice of preliminary “marking” of the body - you can do, and you can not do, if the skills of artistry allow you to transfer the drawing immediately and without distortion.

“LET THEM TEACH ME”

Qualified body designers are trained in professional schools that train makeup artists (in particular, there are already several in the capital). Despite the fact that up to a real boom applied body-painting is still far away, those wishing to comprehend the wisdom of this art is enough - while the 3-month course of study at the school costs an average of one thousand dollars. If the specialist already has an art education, it is a huge plus - then the training will consist of only a few lessons, which will allow you to additionally master the techniques of the correct location of the drawing on the body and the technique of applying special colors.

INSTEAD OF AFTERWORD

“The high” and applied directions of bodypainting are developing simultaneously, but each sets its own limits and pace. However, we can already speak about the potential demand for this art by the general public: posters, photo albums and calendars with the best works of body designers, before they are released, immediately become rarities. And some people who risked to perform painting on their bodies, cause genuine admiration of others. After all, body-painting - this is the only area of beauty, where the man himself becomes an object of art.