New Body Art From Emma Hack. Beautiful Women And A Look At Painting Them.

Body painter Emma Hack recently completed and launched a new series called "Beautiful Women." The "Housewife" and The "Oriental" were both created as a live installation in her Pop-Up Gallery in Adelaide.

"The Housewife" series has been inspired by the stereotypical American housewife depicted in many films of the 50's: her facade is polished and beautiful but, there is a hidden sadness to her posture and a yearning for a life of freedom and happiness.

"The Oriental" series clearly references the work of Vladimir Tretchikoff, in particular his “Chinese Girl” (1953). However in the hands of Hack, the subjects exude an inner strength, through their posture and demeanor. Again, the insertion of birds has been utilized to reference a yearning for freedom.


above: Vladimir Tretchikoff's Chinese Girl served as the inspiration for Emma's Oriental

She painted two canvas backgrounds and two models for these new works and debuted them at her Collectors Dinner last month. As is the case with all her work, Emma paints both the backgrounds and the clothes you see on the models' naked bodies.

The Housewife (3 versions):




The Oriental (4 versions):





Here's a look at the works in progress.

The backdrop for "Housewife" in progress:

The final backdrop for  "Housewife":

Detail:


Painting the "Housewife":





The backdrop for "Oriental" in progress:

The final backdrop for "Oriental":

Detail:


Painting the "Oriental":




The Catherine Asquith Gallery in Melbourne will be showing her Beautiful Women series in from July 9th through July 27th.


all images courtesy of the artist

Don't forget to see these great works by Emma:
•Taking Body Art To A New Level
• Car Wreck Made of 17 Painted Bodies
• POP Art Series


Emma Hack

Emma Hack Takes Body Art To A New Level With Her Latest Collection

We've seen body painting before. I've posted about well-known hand painter, Guido Daniele and the body painting of shoes on feet by Temptu. And how could I forget Veruschka?* But it wasn't until I saw her work on the cover of India's Platform magazine, that I was introduced to Australian artist and body illustrator Emma Hack.

Above: The image used on cover of Platform magazine from last year that piqued my interest in the work of Emma Hack.

An artist with several skills; sculpture, multimedia, photographer and more, I'm sharing images of her body painting for this post because it's simply amazing. Her work uses the naked bodies of both men and women as canvases and incorporates the backgrounds to give us the illusion of a flat surface in which the bodies are so well camouflaged against wall coverings, it's hard to even see them.

About this stunning collection: Emma’s Wallpaper 2005, 2007 and 2008 collections feature Florence Broadhurst wallpaper designs mixed with her body illustration. Emma continues to work blending her ‘wallflowers’ with the beautiful designs of Broadhurst.

Emma’s recent 2008 collection, featured during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, features exotic Australian animals, nude landscapes and a continued collection of Florence Broadhurst wallpapers. Emma photographed this collection herself, evolving her talents further. Here are her most recent works from her Wallpaper series:

And earlier works in the series:

In her Evolution collection, she actually painted animals!
An alligator, a possum, a dragon and turtles:

A bit about the artist:
Emma began her career as a make up and hair stylist and painted children's faces. She has evolved into a world-class body illustrator with several awards and acclaim, as well as a sculptor, a photographer and more. She's involved in several projects and continues to stretch and hone her talents.




Emma is represented in Adelaide by:
Art Images Gallery
32 The Parade Norwood
SA 5067
Phone: 08 8363 0806

*addendum:
I had to amend this post to answer to the several emails I've received reminding me of the amazing body painting and transfigurations by Vera Lehndorff (aka Veruschka). I was remiss in not referencing her work in a post about body painting- because it is superb and especially since my colleagues worked with her to produce a Lexus TV and print campaign in the mid 90s.

After beginning her career as a model in the 60’s, Lehndorff used the Veruschka pseudonym to enter the public domain, becoming one of the most sought-after and heavily publicized models in international fashion. Prior to crossing over to the art world with a renowned series of camouflage body-paintings, Lehndorff worked with many prominent photographers, including Helmet Newton.


above: self portrait by 'Veruschka'

Vera von Lehndorff (aka Veruschka)'s myspace page.