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A living statue, also known as a human statue, usually refers to a performer who poses as a statue or mannequin, usually with realistic statue-like makeup.
Living statue may also refer to art installations created by an artist using living people, or other works created by a performing artist.
The tableau vivant, or group of living statues, was a regular feature of medieval and Renaissance festivities and pageantry, such as royal entries by rulers into cities. Typically a group enacting a scene would be mounted on an elaborate stand decorated to look like a monument, placed on the route of the procession.
By a quirk of English law, nudity on the stage was not permitted unless the performers remained motionless while the stage curtains were open. In the early years of the 20th century, performers took advantage of this exception to stage "plastic representations", as they were sometimes called, centring on nudity. The most persistent performer in this line was the German dancer Olga Desmond, who later put on "Evenings of Beauty" (Schönheitsabende) in Germany, in which she posed nude in imitation of classical works of art ("living pictures"). [1] The English tradition continued until the English law was changed in the 1960s.
A living statue appeared in a scene of the 1945 French film Les enfants du paradis ( Children of Paradise ). The London-based artists Gilbert and George created living statues in the 1960s.
Contemporary performances are commonly on-the-street busking but may also be at events where the artist is paid. A living statue attraction, as a performance, is the artist's ability to stand motionless and occasionally come to life to comic or startling effect.[ citation needed ] These performers, also known as human statues, [2] are often completely covered in paint, often gold or silver in colour. [3]
Australian artist Andrew Baines is known for his artworks using living people, often used to convey a social message. [4]
Since 1996, the annual World Statues Festival is held in Arnhem, Netherlands, initially under the name "Rijnfestijn", [5] now World Living Statues and Statues by Night. [6] [7]
Since 2000, the University of Business and Social Sciences in Buenos Aires, Argentina has hosted a National Contest of Living Statues. [8]
Since 2011, the International Festival of Living Statues has been hosted by Masca Theatre in Bucharest, Romania, where there is a focus on developing the form through artistic research. [9] [10]
The first completely Living Statues Festival started in the city of Espinho, Portugal, in 1997. [11] [12]
Arnhem is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of the rivers Nederrijn and Sint-Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development.
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture that represents persons or animals in full figure, but that is small enough to lift and carry is a statuette or figurine, whilst those that are more than twice life-size are regarded as a colossal statues.
A mannequin is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Previously, the English term referred to human models and muses ; the meaning as a dummy dating from the start of World War II.
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to antiquity. People engaging in this practice are called street performers or buskers. Buskers is not a term generally used in American English.
A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acrobats, jugglers, living statues, and street theatre performers. Street artists can be seen throughout the world.
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km (310 mi) from the territorial capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the Arnhem, which itself was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as "temporary tattoo". Large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work can sometimes be referred to as temporary tattoos.
A tableau vivant is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically illuminated. It thus combines aspects of theatre and the visual arts.
An art model poses, often nude, for visual artists as part of the creative process, providing a reference for the human body in a work of art. As an occupation, modeling requires the often strenuous 'physical work' of holding poses for the required length of time, the 'aesthetic work' of performing a variety of interesting poses, and the 'emotional work' of maintaining a socially ambiguous role. While the role of nude models is well-established as a necessary part of artistic practice, public nudity remains transgressive, and models may be vulnerable to stigmatization or exploitation. Artists may also have family and friends pose for them, in particular for works with costumed figures.
Art destruction is the decay or material destruction of original works of art. This can happen willfully, accidentally, or through natural processes.
Olga Desmond was a German dancer, actress, art model and living statue.
Hongdae (Korean: 홍대) is a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea, near Hongik University, after which it is named. It is known for its urban arts and indie music culture, local shops, clubs, cafés and entertainment. The area is located in Mapo District in the western end of Seoul, stretching from Seogyo-dong, Hapjeong-dong & Seogang-dong.
Depictions of nudity include all of the representations or portrayals of the unclothed human body in visual media. In a picture-making civilization, pictorial conventions continually reaffirm what is natural in human appearance, which is part of socialization. In Western societies, the contexts for depictions of nudity include information, art and pornography. Information includes both science and education. Any image not easily fitting into one of these three categories may be misinterpreted, leading to disputes. The most contentious disputes are between fine art and erotic images, which define the legal distinction of which images are permitted or prohibited.
Nude recreation consists of recreational activities which some people engage in while nude. Historically, the ancient Olympic Games were nude events. There remain some societies in Africa, Oceania, and South America that continue to engage in everyday public activities—including sports—without clothes, while in most of the world nude activities take place in either private spaces or separate clothing optional areas in public spaces. Occasional events, such as nude bike rides, may occur in public areas where nudity is not otherwise allowed.
The nude, as a form of visual art that focuses on the unclothed human figure, is an enduring tradition in Western art. It was a preoccupation of Ancient Greek art, and after a semi-dormant period in the Middle Ages returned to a central position with the Renaissance. Unclothed figures often also play a part in other types of art, such as history painting, including allegorical and religious art, portraiture, or the decorative arts. From prehistory to the earliest civilizations, nude female figures were generally understood to be symbols of fertility or well-being.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro or Sanctuary of Sameiro is a sanctuary and Marian shrine in Espinho, near the city of Braga, Portugal.
The Swimming Hole is an 1884–85 painting by the American artist Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), Goodrich catalog #190, in the collection of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. Executed in oil on canvas, it depicts six men swimming naked in a lake, and is considered a masterpiece of American painting. According to art historian Doreen Bolger it is "perhaps Eakins' most accomplished rendition of the nude figure", and has been called "the most finely designed of all his outdoor pictures". Since the Renaissance, the human body has been considered both the basis of artists' training and the most challenging subject to depict in art, and the nude was the centerpiece of Eakins' teaching program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. For Eakins, this picture was an opportunity to display his mastery of the human form.
Thomas William (Thom) Puckey is a British sculptor living in Amsterdam and Tuscany. He was awarded a master's degree in 1975 at the Royal College of Art, after studying fine art at Croydon College of Art. He moved to the Netherlands in 1979.
PINK de Thierry was a Dutch visual artist known for her meta-performance art projects, which included 100 days of living in a painting, 30 days of traveling in the US as a performance-art project in 1988, daily entering Arcadia for 60 days in Germany with Et in Arcadia Ego Sum in 1990–91 and leading the Royal Netherlands Army in constructing Checkpoint to Dutch Arcadia in 1994. Since 1995, she has created a series of works entitled Letters from Arcadia.
Buhlebezwe Siwani is a multidisciplinary artist known for her work in performance art, installations, and photographic stills.
