AN AMERICAN photographer famed for his en masse depictions of the naked human body is bringing his artwork to Ireland this summer. The internationally renowned contemporary artist Spencer Tunick wants naked volunteers to become part of his first back-to-back city art project in Dublin and Cork this June.
Tunick, who has been photographing the live nude figure in public since 1992, has created scores of images in spectacular locations including New York, Amsterdam and Mexico city. His installations have attracted up to 18,000 participants in the past.
The Cork installation will take place on June 17th, followed by Dublin Docklands on June 21st.
William Galinsky, director of the Cork Midsummer Festival, said taking part in a Spencer Tunick installation could be a life-changing experience. "There are few contemporary artists who have so managed to capture the spirit of our age. Spencer's work is a celebration of the human body, of the landscapes which surround us, and of the power we all have to change the world," he said.
This arts project is part of a series of invitations to artists to create new works in the Docklands. Other international artists creating new works during the year include Antony Gormley, Willie Doherty and Idris Kahn.
Tunick said those who pose are everyday people, with less than 1 per cent made up of nudists or naturalists.
"They just do this collaborative art project once in their life and they might never get naked for an artist again," he said.
