Derek Serra outed as D'Angelo

IN WHAT must come as a surprise for many nude artists, a Cape Town photographer, Derek Serra, has announced that he plans to take naked photographs in the city as part of "an exhibition of D'Angelo". Exactly who or what D'Angelo is, remains a mystery, however according to Media 24, an often hysterical news site, D'Angelo is now "an Italian photographer, well-known for his photographs of nude subjects." and not the international pop singer as some would suppose.

Previous media installments from international tabloid company, The Independent Group, have painted a picture of a "public nudity spectacle" with massed groupings of naked Capetonians enjoying the summer weather without any clothing at all. However, after initial hopes that this would mark a breakthrough for the pent-up frustrations felt by many citizens still forced to wear clothing by a fuddy duddy local government and imprisoned by less than common sense in the mother of all conventions, such hopes could be dashed and the bid could turn out to be nothing more than a hoax.

Are we still stuck in fashionable business suits that have become de rigeur attire in the terribly trendy Cape Town, pretending to be artists involved with public nudity? "At best the whole thing is a publicty stunt that that will do nothing but drop ones shorts in the muck," that's according to one art critic who should know." We beg to differ and hope something more edifying comes of all this talk. Will Capetonians bare all, or simply forget to put on their clothing this summer? The Naked Artist Blogsite will keep you updated and we can only hope that the city that gave us beaches like Sandy Bay has something more risque up its err, lets just call it a sleave and leave it at that.

Here's that strange missive from Media 24 again:

Capetonians to bare all

Cape Town - A handful of Capetonians are willing to pose in the nude for photographs soon.
Cape Town photographer Derek Serra plans to take nude photographs in Cape Town to form part of an exhibition of D'Angelo, an Italian photographer well-known for his photographs of nude subjects.
The exhibition is entitled Nude World and will be held in 2007. Serra's photo project will start on September 20. The local photographer decided that South Africa simply had to be part of this exhibition. "There are already 40 people who are interested - most of them male," Serra said on Sunday.
"Maybe South African women are still a bit conservative for such photos?"
The photographs will show individuals going about their ordinary business in the nude.
Serra said ever photo tells a story and symbolises "freedom".
The project will take two months to complete.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Backpage/HotGossip/0,,2-1343-1344_1765241,00.html

Is D'Angelo for Real?

Doubts as to the veracity of claims by local artist and photographer "D'Angelo to have "taken pictures of hundreds of kaalgat South African citizens in New York, London and Berlin" have begun to emerge. In fact the man who calls himself "D'Angelo" aka Michelangelo could turn out to be a fraud and the project a hoax perpetrated by the Independent Tabloid company.

A recent "sexclusive" in Cape Town's Daily Voice carried photographs of work by Spencer Tunick next to D'Angelo's name. The attempt to pass off the notorious works of public nudity as the work of another artist have drawn eyebrows and criticism from some quarters. After numerous phonecalls and messages to D'Angelo were left unanswered, The Naked Artist blogsite decided to dig a little deeper and assess for itself whether or not the project is phoney.

As it turns out, D'Angelo's press release doesn't mention public nudity but rather a project involving nude photography "in the comfort of ones own home". A far cry from the public exhibitionism promoted by various tabloids and genuine naked artists such as Tunick. Does this mean local artists are too afraid to expose themselves to the elements these days, or are shirking back from the risks involved in offending laws governing public decency?

The Naked Artist challenges D'Angelo to strip down to his promise of showing Cape Town "warts and all" in the run-up to Nude World 2007

Nude Cape Town photographic stunt

Imitating predecessors such as Spencer Tunick, artist/photographer D'Angelo says he will be in Cape Town in September 2005 on an unusual assignment. Apparently he will be photographing ordinary Capetonians in their homes and workplaces - and they'll be naked! We couldn't have wished for more, well, perhaps that his subjects won't be all white like so many previous nude art happenings. Come on people, get some rainbow colour in there before we all have to use black and white photography to hide the pimples on your buttocks.

"Nude Cape Town" claims to be a photographic project which "aims to portray Capetonians from all walks of life in their "natural" state for a photography exhibition". The photographer is looking for people interested in being photographed for this "warts-and-all" portrayal of the people of Cape Town from 20 - 30 September. "From housewives to businessmen, students to professionals, young and old - all Capetonians are invited to be photographed for this exhibition."

Their nude portraits will join "nude portraits of people from London, Paris, Rome, New York, Amsterdam and Moscow in an international exhibition entitled "Nude World" planned for 2007." We can only hope this is all true and not a cheap stunt by conservative daily tabloid company, Independent Newspapers.

Capetonians wishing to volunteer as models for the D'Angelo project can expect to receive a signed print of their nude portrait from the artist as well as exposure to some of the more naked elements of society. Need we say more?

Call 082 5544315 and leave contact details with the local co-ordinator.

ED: Are there any genuine naked artists out there that we should know about? Want to be famous? Need to express your inner demon to the outside world? Email us with details of your local Naked Art Happening and we will endeavour to provide you with, ah, lets just call it coverage.

Statement by Spencer Tunick on public nudity and art

Sometimes I feel like I am an explorer,
sometimes I feel like I am a criminal,
sometimes I feel like I am an artist.
I create my work under very stressful conditions.
While a lot of work done by contemporary artists
is very controversial,
I feel that my nudes are not controversial.
The controversy lies in the fact thatI am using the city as my landscape.
The conditions in which I create my work
are tense, crazed and unpredictable.
My models are urban adventurers.
I assist them in seeing the world in a different way.
I create dreams and I create memories
that they will hold with them forever.
Spencer TunickMay 30, 1997

(from http://www.thebluedot.com/tunick/)