ART ON A HUMAN CANVAS: Historical Exposé on Body Art

Once of the most ancient forms of art is body painting. This form of body art is unlike tattooing and is temporarily painted onto the human skin and lasts for several hours or at the most (in the case of Mehndi or "henna tattoo") a couple of weeks. Another form of body painting on the face is known as face painting.

Traditional body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribal cultures, often worn during ceremonies; it still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as Mehndi, using dyes made of henna (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), was and is still practiced in India and the Middle East, especially on brides. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young women in the Western world. Indigenous peoples of South America traditionally use annatto, huito, or wet charcoal to decorate their face and body. Huito is semi-permanent and it generally takes weeks for this black dye to fade. Actors and clowns around the world have painted their faces and sometimes bodies for centuries, and continue to do so today. More subdued form of face paints for everyday occasions evolve into the cosmetics we know today.

There has been a revival of body painting in the Western society since the 1960s, in part prompted by the liberalization of social mores regarding nudity. Even today there is a constant debate about the legitimacy of body painting as an art form. The current modern revival could be said to date back to the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago where Max Factor and his model were arrested for causing a public disturbance when he body painted her with his new make-up formulated for Hollywood films. Public, open-air body painting is common in Helsinki, Finland. The corporal art today evolves to the works more directed towards personal mythologies. Body painting is not always full nude bodies and includes smaller designs on one area on the body. Body paintings can also typically be seen at football matches, at rave parties, and at certain festivals. The World Body painting Festival in Seeboden in Austria is the biggest art event in the body painting theme and thousands of visitors admire the wonderful work of the participants.

Each artist has the opportunity to show his/her own specialties - bodies painted with many different materials and techniques, and sometimes combined with the most fantastic costumes, masks and show effects. Skill categories include Brush/Sponge, Airbrush and Special Effects, as well as in one special category, the night contest for UV effects.

Since the early 1990s body painting has become more widely accepted in the North America, and more and more body artists are beginning to come onto the national community. Many artists work professionally as body painters across the world. Their work is seen regularly in television commercials, such as the Natrel Plus campaign featuring models camouflaged as trees. Body painters also work frequently in the film arena especially in Science Fiction with more and more elaborate alien creations being body painted. Stills advertising also used body painting with hundreds of body painting looks on the pages of the world's glossy magazines every year. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, published annually, has in recent years featured a section of models that were body painted, attired in renditions of swimsuits or sports jerseys. Sometimes accessories are used such as bows or buttons. In the 2005 Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion calendar, all Playmates appeared in the calendar wearing bikinis, but Playmates Karen McDougal and Hiromi Oshima were actually appearing in painted on bikinis for their respective months. In October, 2005, the Playboy magazine cover featured a foldout of two models (Sara Jean Underwood and Victoria Thornton) wearing only body paint. These and other body paintings done for Hugh Hefner's parties at the Playboy Mansion are created for Playboy by artist Mark Frazier.

Face paint is an artistic application of cosmetic "paint" to a person's face. There are special cosmetic "paints" made just for face painting; people should ask before having face paints applied what kind of paints are being used. "Craft" paints are not meant for use on skin and are not acceptable, nor are watercolor pencils or markers. These can cause staining and allergic reactions. From ancient times, it has been used for hunting, religious reasons, and military reasons (such as camouflage and membership in a military unit). Especially in modern times, it is a common entertainment at county fairs, large open-air markets (especially in Europe and the Americas), and other locations where children and adolescents are. Face painting is very popular among children at theme parks, parties and festivals throughout the Western world. Though the majority of face painting is geared towards children, many teenagers and adults enjoy being painted for special events, such as charity fund raisers.

There are many kinds of face paint, including designs that include the emblems of favorite sports teams, cartoon characters, and other designs that are "cute" or otherwise appealing to the young.

Dramatic designs that appeal to all ages and costuming designs which transform the wearer into someone/something completely different. Designs that endeavor to color the face in such a way to indicate solidarity with a cause, usually the outcome of a sporting contest or membership in a group. A similar activity is the application of "instant tattoos", which are paint or ink-based designs that are put on as one unit and removed by means of water, alcohol, soap, or another mild solvent.

Modern face and body paints are made according to stringent guidelines, meaning these are non-toxic, non-allergenic, and can easily be washed away. These are either applied with hands, paint brush, and natural sea sponge, or alternatively with an airbrush. Contrary to the popular myth perpetuated by the James Bond movie ‘Goldfinger’, a person is not asphyxiated if their whole body is painted, although wearing body paint for a prolonged period may cause heat stroke by inhibiting perspiration. As for Mehndi, natural brown henna dyes are safe to use; however, synthetic black dyes can cause serious skin allergies, and require patch tests before the actual paintings commence.

Whatever the type of body paint (the same is true for cosmetics), should the skin show any sign of allergy, one should immediately cease using it. Whatever form it takes, make sure that your body art remains safe, creative and fun.

 

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