Body painting (body painting, body art) Automatic translate

High art? Salon service? Modern body paint is both. The human body under the brush of a master can become a real masterpiece, and you can become a master yourself…

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Civilization put an end to primitive fine art, but could not do without it at all - the methods of decorating one’s own body long known to mankind have become the lot of body art. There is a misconception that body art is just an artistic painting of the face and body. In fact, this course is much wider and includes piercing, scarification (scarring), brading (branding), tattooing and body-painting (from the English body - body, painting - drawing). It is body painting that is most often confused with body art, offering the corresponding service in the salons. So that you can freely navigate in this area, we will take a closer look at the modern concept of body painting - from theoretical questions to existing techniques.

PHILOSOPHY

There is probably no more “eternal" art than body painting: a masterpiece that delights others, completely disappears without a trace in a very short time. True, this circumstance has never influenced the popularity of body painting - its history, spanning many millennia, confirms this. However, modern “body painting” owes its “second birth” to avant-garde and postmodern, which proclaimed the human body as an object of art. And art, as you know, is applied and "high." Body painting was not an exception, which exists as if in two guises: conceptual displays and salon services for “advanced” clientele. Each direction, of course, is worthy of a separate description, since there are much more differences between them than similarities. And we will begin, of course, with the “high”.

BODY CONCEPT

While civilized Europe and no less civilized West mastered the applied direction, offering body painting as a fundamentally new type 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 “Mitkov” called “Geography” (the girls painted with theatrical make-up were laid on the canvas, then the resulting “paintings” were framed and put up for public viewing). Perhaps that is why we have not completely adopted the “mass” perception of body design to the end - you must admit that it’s hard to imagine a more unsuccessful beginning for the promotion of salon services than such a shocking 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, in contrast to the recognized leaders of body painting - France and the USA, are practically not held. Moreover, in the spring of 2002, the national championship was also canceled, gathering dozens of specialists from all over the country in Moscow for two consecutive years. So now, only large companies and companies conducting the presentation of new brands, or famous exhibitions of relevant topics offer a rare opportunity to demonstrate their vision of the world to the general public.

It is difficult to tell something more specific in this direction of body painting (for example, about techniques, subjects, etc.) - about the same as writing the textbook “Become Van Gogh in Three Days”. It may sound too pompous, but, like any art, it requires primarily talent and calling. If you feel the strength in yourself to engage in such conceptual creativity, you yourself will find your way. Perhaps the only thing worth dwelling on in more detail is the question of choosing a model whose body serves both as a “canvas” and as a source of inspiration.

"THE LINEUP

Models for body painting are not enough to have a young, beautiful body. It happens the other way around - the imperfection of lines and forms in combination with an unusual plot leads to the birth of a real masterpiece. However, the impression of this type of art is not only the beauty of the artist’s design, embodied on the skin. The most important thing here is the creation of an integral image, because these "works of art" are always shown in motion. Therefore, the model for body painting requires primarily a creative approach and extraordinary acting abilities, and her work begins long before the show - the plot and semantic content of the picture, musical accompaniment, gestures are discussed…

Best of all, girls play this role - professional models, dancers, actresses or students of theatrical universities: they move great, which is important for the show, and have endurance, which is of great importance for the painting process and subsequent performance. The female body here is generally considered more expressive than the male one, it is more prominent and, importantly, erotic. And this cannot be denied: body painting initially carries with it a certain “physicality”, which is in constant conflict with spirituality, the semantic “message” of the artist. Experts say that this is a very fine line, breaking which it is easy to turn real art into a veiled striptease. However, they claim that in the process of painting there is absolutely no erotic component: they treat a girl like a canvas or an item for decoration. And this is not surprising, because the pictorial stage requires a truly angelic patience from the model.

A complicated drawing is sometimes applied up to 5 — b hours, while she spends most of her time standing: you cannot sit down or make sudden movements for a minute. Then she will face no less difficult test - “stage check”, after which the difficulties do not end there: the persistent paints that are used for this type of art have to be washed off under the shower for a long time. What is offered here in return? It is hard to say. The name of the model never appears in shows, because she is just a material for creativity, moreover, having a limited "shelf life". Only young skin possesses the best properties of a “canvas”, therefore, when choosing a model, not only external parameters and the ability to create an image are always taken into account, but also age. However, in spite of everything, conceptual body painting does not lose its appeal in their eyes. Perhaps this is because the process of painting itself carries a certain psychological detente.

It is not without reason that art therapy has long been considered one of the branches of the concept direction, which helps to cope with various problems, including physical rejection of oneself and sexual disorders. Symbolic images on one’s own body provide an outlet for negative energy and emotions, allow one to take a different look at the world…

However, this “medal” has a flip side, which equally applies to both conceptual and applied body painting. Therefore, before proceeding with the description of salon services in this area, a few words should be said about this.

FROM GOD OR FROM THE DEVIL?

The main idea of ​​any body painting is body painting, which makes a person an integral part of the master’s concept, his creative vision. And it doesn’t matter if this service is performed for a private client or if it is intended for a stylish show, each piece 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 area: figuratively speaking, you will always be responsible for the ideas and images generated by your imagination. Professionals do not consider this to be mysticism: in body painting, there have long been unofficial forbidden topics - for example, pronounced devilish symbolism, especially made in black and white style. Why, you can guess for yourself…

IN THE CABIN

Turning to the peculiarities of salon body painting, it should be noted right away that the graphic series here primarily depends 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 help in choosing a drawing, and direct creativity.

It should be borne in mind that such a service is in demand mainly by women. The correct approach, that is, positioning the body paint precisely as a memorable part of the evening make-up, ensures the normal workload of the master in the cabin. Permanent success here is the painting of a small area on the cheeks or shoulders open with an evening toilet, back, arms, on the décolleté line, on the ankles. Among the drawings, as a rule, floral, ethnic motifs or images of animals predominate.

It should be borne in mind that the correct, professional body painting requires a mandatory combination with flawless make-up, implying the use of only a basic tonal foundation (up to 5 tones at a time!) And mascara, which should not overshadow, but only emphasize the expressiveness of the picture. 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 complete a painting can not do.

Another feature of body painting is related to the time of the year: in summer there are more customers, in winter there are practically no customers. The most peak of its popularity, including among men, body-painting reaches only several times a year - the body-designer paints valentines on Valentine’s Day, turns those who wish into monsters and other evil spirits 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 during this period: they can safely offer rocker-themed designs that will allow them to look stylish at such parties.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE PRICE

Ordinary make-up artists working in beauty salons very rarely possess special body painting techniques. In this case, you can offer customers to apply complex makeup with mural elements (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 using a ready-made stencil - for example, imitates a Brabant lace on the neck and décolleté - this is estimated at about $ 150. Complicated drawings that require preliminary sketches and even try-ons (!) - say, angel wings on the back or silver-pearl mermaid scales thrown over the body by a net - should cost twice as much.

TECHNICS
A serious approach to body painting involves several hours of continuous work of the master, and you must be prepared for this in advance. In addition to purely technical aspects, you need inspiration and, oddly enough, this sounds, mood on the wave of the client.

As a rule, it all starts with a sketch on paper, in which not only interesting creative finds are important, but also the relief of a specific human body - how the drawing “lies” on the skin, what volume effects it will create. Even some skin flaws (birthmarks, pimples, etc.) can suggest unexpected creative ideas and options for their use in the painting process. At this stage, it is necessary to take into account both the features of the plastic movement and stylistic accents: painting can and should be a continuation of the image as a whole, including clothing, makeup and hair. 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, it all depends on the structural features of the body, color and taste preferences of the client, his energy.

It is also necessary to remember that the color of this “live picture” should look expressively and effectively in a specific situation, for which the client decided on body painting - in the evening or daylight, in a chamber or, on the contrary, crowded environment, including the nuances of overlaying flowers.

After agreeing the drawing with the client, it is finally transferred to the skin. Before starting work, the application area is thoroughly cleaned and dried, since the durability of the body painting performed depends on it. Some experts also consider it necessary to pre-coat the skin with a special, colorless water-based paint, however, this is by no means a dogma in salon body painting. In the same way, professionals relate to the existing practice of preliminary “marking” of the body - you can do it, or you can not do it if the skills of artistic mastery allow you to transfer the picture immediately and without distortion.

"LET ME LEARN"

Qualified body designers are trained in professional schools that train make-up artists (in particular, there are several of them in the capital). Despite the fact that this boom in applied body painting is still far away, there are enough people who want to comprehend the wisdom of this art - despite the fact that a 3-month course in school costs an average of one thousand dollars. If the specialist already has an art education, then this is a huge plus - then the training will consist of only a few lessons that will allow you to additionally master the techniques of correctly positioning the drawing on the body and the technique of applying special paints.

INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD

The "high" and applied areas of body painting are developing simultaneously, but each of them sets its own framework and pace. However, today you can talk about the potential demand for this art by the general public: posters, photo albums and calendars with the best works of body designers, without having time to go out, immediately become rarities. And some people who risked to paint on their body, cause genuine admiration for others. After all, body painting is the only sphere of beauty where a person himself becomes an object of art.