SPENCER TUNICK: Human bodies

This interview was conducted in November 2000 by Vito Robbiani at the artist's home. An informal and very pleasant meeting. A reminder of a past that still impresses us today with its art and boldness!
Throughout his artistic career, the U.S. photographer has always focused on the nude: from his beginnings in the 1990s until today, his research identifies the nude as a central element.
His subjects have therefore been at the center of strong debates: in fact, by photographing nude models he identifies the relationship between individual and collective, private and public.
One of his earliest installations is "Reaction Zone," in New York City: this is a series of fifteen photographs of naked bodies in the streets of the Big Apple, of which "Monumentum (1996)," "New York (1997)" and "Connections (1996)" are part.
His art aims to unite peoples and cultures through nudity, despite the taboo often created around it. Particular importance is given to the models, who are volunteers and whose courage can be seen in his works; in 2007 a record was set for the largest number of people photographed, as many as 18,000 posed in the main square of Mexico City, El Zòcalo.
Born in Middletown (NY), 1.1.1967, lives and works in New York.
"Spencer Tunick has been documenting the live nude figure in public, with photography and video, since 1992. Since 1994, he has organized over 100 temporary site-related installations that encompass dozens, hundreds or thousands of volunteers, and his photographs are records of these events. In his early group works, the individuals en masse, without their clothing, grouped together, metamorphose into a new shape. The bodies extend into and upon the landscape like a substance. These group masses, which do not underscore sexuality, often become abstractions that challenge or reconfigure one's views of nudity and privacy. The work also refers to the complex issue of presenting art in permanent or temporary public spaces.
Spencer has and continues to make group installations/photographs elevating awareness of cancer, HIV/AIDS, LGBTQIA+ rights, equality and climate change, among other issues."
www.spencertunick.com/bio
Spencer Tunick
by Vito Robbiani
New York - Brooklyn
10-17.11.200
Camera (November 2000)
Vito Robbiani
Editing
Francesco Campana
Music
Jazz Mango - Joey Pecor
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