Waving Art

I am a big fan of waving, I wave to people even when I am on the phone and I know they can't hear me. It is personal, fun, kind and warm. It represents affection and closeness.

Of course, some people wave formally by raising their hand in a slight gesture, or the Queen of England who has a weird reverse hand wave, almost a "get away from me you pleb" type of thing.

My waves, though, are enthusiastic and jolly. If you get a full hand wave or a cute four-finger bowing wave from me, it is because I like you and am pleased to see you.

But, when I think of waving, I also think of the artist Spencer Tunick.

If you don't know him, you have probably seen or heard of his work. He makes art installations using naked people in public, whether it is just one person or thousands.



He has been commissioned to make art around the world. Yet, because the naked form is considered immoral and illegal, Spencer has been arrested five times in New York. As such, he has not been able to make his art in America for ten years.

His art embraces the human form in different shapes, sizes and colours. It recognizes that all people are the same and individual and form part of the broader landscape of nature and the human-made world. Spencer's work plays with sexuality and gender, global warming, freedom, and a whole range of "big" issues, while taking the human form back to its basic state.

Mainly though, I love it because it is happy. People enjoy exploring what it is like to be naked in a group. They have to challenge themselves. As Spencr said of the installation in front of the Sydney Opera House (see the video below): "It was difficult to get the straight participants to embrace the gay participants and vice versa,"  but they did embrace! In Spencer's installation, people have to dive in and go for it and ultimately, they all end up waving and smiling! I love it!




Enjoy the video and smile :D



This post was made for Wicked Wednesday, with the prompt "wave."