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