Art News

Getting Naked for Art with Spencer Tunick at the Sydney Opera House

SYDNEY (REUTERS).- Some 5,200 Australians posed naked in front of the Sydney Opera House on Monday for a photo shoot by New York-based artist Spencer Tunick for another signature installation of nudes against urban backdrops. On a chilly, overcast, first day of autumn, the mass nude photo shoot was titled “Mardi Gras: The Base” and meant to celebrate Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last weekend. As the sun rose, Tunick instructed participants to do a number of poses, from standing up, lying down, and even embracing cheek to cheek, for over an hour. “I want all couples to embrace and kiss, all friends to kiss and all strangers to do whatever they want,” Tunick said as he directed the crowd. Some participants were surprised at how asexual, and leveling, the event was. “I thought it could be a bit awkward, but it’s funny because when you’re naked and everybody else is naked, you feel like you’re dressed, because everybody looks the same,” said Steven Anglier,