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Body painting is a form of body art, considered by some as the most ancient form of art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks as in the case of mehendi or henna tattoo.
Body painting is a form of creative expression for people who prefer to be nude to communicate their feelings and ideas about the human body by using the body as their canvas or medium of art expression. The ideas expressed may be sexual in nature.
Such people not only like to pain bodies but to have their own painted too. The possibilities that a naked body throws up in terms of ideas and motifs to paint are infinite. Such people have a very detached and objective attitude towards the human body. They accept unflinchingly the body as it is and then use it as a base to realize new concepts of life. Body painting, then, is erotic.
Traditional body painting: Clay and natural pigments were used for this ancient art form, especially for ceremonies by the tribal folk of Australia, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. Meanwhile, a semi-permanent form of body painting, called mehendi, made with dyes of henna grew very popular in India and the Middle East, and is used for brides.
Body painting festivals: Body painting has become so popular that now there are many such festivals to celebrate this art. It is now huge both in amateur and professional arenas. These festivals are worldwide platforms that bring together both professionals and amateurs. The biggest body painting festival is the World Body Painting Festival at Seeboden, Austria, which takes place in July every year.
Here, each year this most colourful event takes place in and idyllic setting where over 20,000 visitors, 250 models and 150 artists from 40 nations participate to paint bodies aesthetically on a theme. At the end of each of this five-day festival, painted models walk the ramp to give hungry photographers meat for their photo exhibition.
Obviously, full body painting means the subject sits or lies in the nude before the artist. So, minors are not allowed to be painted on their entire body.
Besides this, this art is also popular among children who have their faces painted at theme parks, parties and festivals throughout the Western world. Often, however, teenagers and adults also join in to have their faces painted.
How body paints are made: Body paints today are made to stringent guidelines, which means they are non-toxic, non-allergenic, and can be washed away with ease. They can be applied by hand, or with a paint brush, natural sea sponge, or with an airbrush.
On the other hand, mehendi, a natural brown henna dye is safe to use and is applied by hand.
Body painting is an art that has come a long way and will continue to be part of our ethos. In fact, mehendi is such an intrinsic part of Indian and Middle Eastern culture that it continues to cut across cultural barriers in the Asian sub-continent.