Liu Bolin has based a career as an artist on painting himself to match his surroundings, and around the world, people douse themselves in paint for various body painting competitions. Clearly, humans are fascinated by the chameleon-like ability to disappear. Italian artist Johannes Stötter specializes in bodypainting, and has been obsessed with the art ever since he began exploring the medium in 2000. In 2012, he was named the World's Greatest Bodypainter, and it is apparent that the title is well-deserved.
Stötter uses the human body as his canvas to create works that perfectly meld people into with surroundings. The artist pays meticulous attention to each of his projects. Planning a single piece can take up to five months and the actual painting process up to eight hours.
In describing his fascination with bodypainting Stötter says, "In bodypainting you create unity between an image and a person. A lot of my inspiration comes from nature. I think I observe the world, nature, colours and shapes with very clear eyes and an open heart...The skin is very different to canvas—it is alive, it is soft and warm, it is a very comfortable base to paint on. Bodypainting is special because the artwork is alive and can move.”
[via Visual News]
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