Painted bodies
Subtitle: by forty-five Chilean artists
By: photographs by Roberto Edwards.
Contributors: Edwards, Roberto.
Publisher: Abbeville Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 335
Description: Full of magic and boldness, this unique volume presents dynamic photographs of bodies painted by artists for this project. The inspiration for this project comes from history: human beings have painted their bodies since the beginning of time. Christopher Colombus was faced by natives with painted bodies when he first set foot on American soil. To commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the explorer's first voyage to the New World, natives of America once again appear with painted bodies.

Forty-five Chilean painters, invited to participate in this project, express a diversity of approaches to body art, each one in keeping with their individual character. Some attempt to replicate primitive body painting, while others make full use of modern sophistication. The treatments vary widely, from "dressed" bodies, complete with lace and zippers, to bodies bearing street scenes or faces, to completely abstract paintings highlighting the expressionistic use of the body as canvas.

The resulting collaboration is a collection of endlessly varied and thought-provoking photographs of the modern application of an ancient art.