True Colors
The World Bodypainting Festival is a celebrated tradition in Seeboden, Austria, that showcases art and the town’s beautiful setting.
By Kimberly King
ARTISTS HAVE ALWAYS FOUND INSPIRATION IN NATURE. From Georgia O’Keeffe’s desert landscapes of New Mexico to Vincent van Gogh’s sunflowers, we have grown accustomed to seeing the natural world depicted in art. It is no surprise then that Seeboden, a treasured lakeside town nestled near the foothills of the Nockberge Mountains in Austria, serves as an apt backdrop for a festival where artists from more than 40 countries gather to create art. What may be a surprising, if natural, choice is that the canvas these artists use is the human body.
A Colorful Past
Body painting has a history that reaches back to ancient times: Decorating the skin with clay and other natural pigments for battle or ceremony is believed to have been prevalent in most tribalistic cultures. It was not until the 1960s, however, that body painting had its Western revival, due in part to the free-spirited attitude pervasive during that time and more relaxed social mores regarding nudity. Today, artists work professionally as body painters all over the world. Their work is seen on TV and in magazines; body painters also work frequently in film, particularly in science fiction.
The idea for an annual body painting festival occurred simply enough—Alex Barendregt, a manager at the Seeboden Bureau of Tourism, landed in a leading role in the industry at a young age. After some contact with a body painter at the Fine Arts Academy in 1998, Barendregt researched and discovered that there was no festival to celebrate the art of bodypainting, something that interested him. He thought this lack, coupled with his hometown Seeboden’s beautiful setting, presented a unique opportunity for showcasing this art and bringing in visitors.
“There was no such event for bodypainting artists before [the World Bodypainting Festival],” Barendregt said. “Over the years, we’ve maintained the original idea and kept the event high in quality.”
The festival centers on a very simple concept.
“Let’s bring body painters to a place that is surrounded by the beauty of nature in order to give the art form of body painting a great place to develop,” Barendregt said.
With each passing year, the World Bodypainting Festival becomes larger and more influential, spawning spin-off festivals worldwide.
Written on the Body
Because of his ties with the Seeboden Bureau of Tourism, Barendregt organized the inaugural event unilaterally with few obstacles.
“In the beginning we had a bit of an issue concerning nudity, but the fact is that our images and works of body painting art are presented in a highly artistic way,” he said. “It is a family event—kids get their faces painted, we have drawing classes that include them and of course all of the children want to get airbrush tattoos. In 2009, we had around 4,000 visitors under 14 years old.”
Now approaching its 13th year, the World Bodypainting Festival is a celebrated tradition in Austria—the weeklong festival uses teamwork and help from sponsors to combine dance, drama, painting and photography to create boundary-breaking art in a group setting.
Last year’s theme was “Poetry—the Power of Words,” and each day, live stage performances treated 26,000 participants in keeping with that theme.
“Every year, new programs are added, and the particular community of participating artists makes every year unique,” Barendregt said.
Because the works of art at the festival are fleeting and typically last just hours before being washed away, few events in Europe attract as many photographers. Various photography competitions have become another artistic aspect of the festival.
Seeboden’s stunning environment and surrounding Lake Millstatter are not overlooked or taken for granted by participants.
“We want people to get to know the culture and environment before and after the festival,” Barengredt said. “We organize tours, side events, etc., to get people attached to the area.”
Festival goers participate in selective auto, bicycle and hiking tours, including a trip to Austria’s highest mountain, the Grossglockner, and the 655-foot Malta dam. Area bars and restaurants also offer services at discounts for festival visitors.
New Hues
Planning for the 2010 World Bodypainting Festival is well under way—this year’s events will take place July 12-18. Slated features include a night contest for UV effects, a course on colors and composition and a special workshop about the technique of painting on realistic clothing. The week’s events will conclude at a fantasy ball in the medieval castle Sommeregg. One+
KIMBERLY KING is a New York-based freelance writer.
Transportation Tips
• Seeboden is situated in Carinthia in south Austria. The village is centrally located and can be reached via the A10 Autobahn by car.
• With the Austrian Railway and the ÖBB-EVENTticket, there is a discount to the nearest train station, Spittal-Millstättersee. The voucher will be available in the World Bodypainting Festival program brochure and also on the Web site for downloading.
• The closest airport is Klagenfurt, about 50 miles away. There is a daily bus shuttle to Seeboden and surrounding villages especially for festival participants. Other airports are Salzburg (77 miles away) or Ljubljana (74 miles away in Slovenia).
What’s New in Austria
• The Hotel Stein in Salzberg was recently renovated to include a rooftop cafe and suites with leather upholstery and zebra-skin fabrics.
• Austria’s train network has improved with the addition of its newest and fastest train, the Railjet. It will shorten travel times between Budapest, Munich and Vienna (and connect Vienna to Innsbruck and on to Zurich in 2010-2012).
• In Austria, smoking is now officially verboten in restaurants and cafes, but large establishments are allowed to build separate smoking rooms for their patrons if they choose.
Fun Facts About Austria
• Vienna’s Central Cemetery has more than 2.5 million tombs (more than the city’s present population), including those of composers Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.
• A mummified corpse from the Stone Age was found in the ice of the Otztal Alps, between Austria and Italy, in 1991.
• Austria is the only continental European Union country that is not a member of NATO.