Garden In The Nude Saturday, May 5, has been designated as the third annual World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD). The international event encourages people to "tend their portion of the world's garden clothed as nature intended," according to the organization's website. World Naked Gardening Day was designed to help cultures worldwide move toward body acceptance in a natural setting. The event claims to have no political agenda, nor is it organized by an individual group. The goal is to bring together communities in a way that helps the environment and to promote the family-friendly activity. How can people participate in WNGD? The website advises to first find an opportunity to garden while naked--alone, with friends, or with any other group with the same pupose in mind. Second, they advise to talk about the experience, whether to friends, by submitting a letter to the local newspaper, or posting thoughts on a blog or other Internet site. World Naked Gardening Day is planned for the first Saturday of May each year. Read more at WNGD. 
Nude Fountain Displayed in Seattle Art Park Thousands of people strolled the grounds of the Seattle Art Museum's new nine-acre sculpture park last weekend. One of the visitors to the opening was Seattle resident Bill Gates, who called the park "impressive," according to the Monterey Herald. The park was financed mostly by private donors--many with Microsoft conections--who made the park and the display of the artworks possible. Only about a quarter of the cost came from taxpayers. A fountain at the park, "Father and Son" by Louise Bourgeois is the centerpiece of the park. It was commissioned with a $1 million bequest from a retired computer analyst, Stu Smailes, who died in 2002. Smailes specified that the bequest be spent on nude figures. The life-size figures of a father and his son are bathed in waters that rise and fall, giving the figures only a glimpse of each other. Read more at Art Park. Body Painting Artist Releases Book Those who do not know the work of body-painting artist Joanne Gair probably recognize her most famous work--the "suit" actress Demi Moore modeled on the August 1992 cover of Vanity Fair. A recent book, Body Painting: Masterpieces by Joanne Gair, shows images from a celebrated career that spans over 20 years. Gair's interest in bodypainting was inspired by the facial adornments of the Maori people of her native New Zealand. Gair's work allows the viewer to see the human body as a canvas to be transformed through art. Besides Demi Moore, Gair has painted swimsuits on models for Sports Illustrated and made numerous music videos with Madonna. Other celebrities she has worked with include Gillian Anderson, Elle McPherson, and Heidi Klum. Gair has also colaborated with some of the world's finest photographers whose work is included in this book such as Annie Leibovitz and Herb Ritts. Gair's collaborations have resulted in thousands of magazine photographs, record covers, music videos, films, and fashion runway shows. Read more at Joanne Gair Law Not Broken By Nude Bowlers Police responded to a call about a nudist event at an Old Town Maine bowling alley, reports United Press International. A local nudist group, the Bare Nekkid Mainers, hosted the nude bowling event. The bowling alley was closed, the windows and doors were covered with paper, and a notice posted outside stated that a private party was in progress. However, a man entered the building with his eight-year-old son and saw a nude man playing pool. The man reported the incident to the local police who determined nothing illegal had taken place. The spokesperson for the nudist group said the doors must remain unlocked for fire safety reasons.  |
