Stopping traffic (and a few photographers) on 14th Street. PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
‘Body Painting Day’ brings daring splashes of color to Union Square
thing — just planning on a one-time experience — but
end up coming back.”
Amy, who is participating for the fourth time, says
that “the more you do it, the more it feels like you are
part of a community.”
“I feel fi ne about walking through the street, it doesn’t
feel sexual — it feels safe,” she remarks.
Another model, Rob Kaplan, did it for the fi rst
SHIRA AND NIKI FLIPPING OUT
BY BOB KRASNER
A parade of very colorful people — all shapes, sizes
and genders — walked down Fifth Avenue wearing
nothing but shoes and body paint, eliciting
all the reactions you would imagine.
People gawking, tourists tripping over themselves to
grab phone pics, parents pulling their kids away, pro
photographers exercising their long lenses and the occasional
bystander muttering, “What the f–k?”
“One year, someone called 911!” laughs Andy Golub,
founder of Human Connection Arts, the non-profi t organization
that puts on the “Body Painting Day” every year.
“Ten years ago I was arrested for painting three
women in Times Square,” he recalls. “I called Ron Kuby,
the civil rights lawyer, and found out that nudity was
legal in public during a performance.”
This year’s Body Painting Day in Union Square Park,
with its theme of ‘Resilience,’ was indeed a group performance
— a collaboration between artists and models
that is transformative for all concerned. The models —
around 45 of them this year — spend almost 4 hours
being painted in public before strolling through the city.
Some of them have done it before; for others, it was
their fi rst time doing something as daring.
“The most common thing that I hear from models is
how liberating it is,” mentions Tom Sebazco, Golub’s
painting partner. “Some are doing it as a bucket list
time as “a way to get out of my comfort zone. It feels
empowering.”
“To me, it’s all about the things in life that are colorful
and silly and fun,” Golub states. “There’s really no
purpose in it other than to enrich our experience.”
But further conversation reveals that it goes deeper
than that.
Refl ecting on the effect of his project, he notes that
“when people come in from out of town, they see NYC
as a beacon of freedom and I’m proud to be part of
that story.”
Further, he bemoans the fact that “the relationship
of naked men and women can be adversarial. But the
body is who we are and we are sending out a powerful
message. Nudity in a non-sexual but loving way helps
form a better relationship between men and women.”
“It seemed so natural,” noted Chelsea artist Judi
Harvest, who had never observed the event before. “It
was of the moment and really exuberant! I didn’t expect
it to stay with me afterward.”
Sebazco, who barely had time to catch his breath,
collaborated with Golub in painting 20 of the models.
“We were really tired when it was over,” he said, “but it
was a happy exhaustion. We all had big smiles – like we
were the team that won the big game.”
Check humanconnectionarts.org for further information;
you can also follow them on Instagram at
@connectionarts
Shira and Niki flipping out
10 July 29, 2021 Schneps Media
/humanconnectionarts.org
