SPENCER TUNICK

Tunick stages scenes in which the battle of nature against culture is played out against various backdrops, from civic center to desert sandstorm. In 2002 he started to work with standing positions for his group formations referencing traditional group portraiture. Now, for some installations, he adds objects that the participants are often holding or wearing and has included body paint.

Near the end of installations, for the final setups, he often organizes the participants into smaller groups to make additional assemblages: sometimes by sex, sometimes by age, or even by hair color. However, no one is ever excluded from an installation because of the color of their skin, ethnicity, gender identity, sex, race, religion, or political affiliation. Within reason, if you can make it to an installation you can participate, unless of course there are space limitations.

Tunick could not make his art without the generosity of the public. He is eternally grateful for their participation. He wishes he could credit everyone in his individual and group photographs but there are hundreds and thousands who have taken part collectively.

Spencer Tunick’s temporary site-specific photographic installations have been commissioned by the XXV Biennial de Sao Paulo, Brazil (2002); Institut Cultura, Barcelona (2003); The Saatchi Gallery (2003); MOCA Cleveland (2004); Vienna Kunsthalle (2008) and MAMBO Museum of Modern Art, Bogota (2016), among others.

Tunick has also made installations elevating awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights, HIV/AIDS, cancer and climate change. He is the co-founding curator of DontDelete.Art, a project advocating for greater protection of artistic freedom across social media and online platforms.

Text courtesy the artist