OTHER STUFF
Spencer Tunick installation Salford/Manchester
Spencer Tunick was commissioned to do an art installation called "everyday people" to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the opening of "The Lowery" This happened on the 1st and 2nd of May 2010. I attended the sunday (2nd) photo shoot.
I started to queue at The Lowery around 2 am for 3:30am start. 500 participant were needed on each of the 2 days but due to the announced deliberate over subscription ( to compensate for no-shows) only approximately 350 people attended. People did not want to travel from all over the country, (and abroad ) queue for hours and then not get in. The Lowery doors opened and we all entered and our names were ticked off from the registration sheet. We were all offered a bottle drink and an Ikea bag ( to put our clothes in when the time came) I accepted the bag ( which I still use for shopping to this day) and went and sat in the theatre. ( I had never been into The Lowery before so that was a bonus.) After a while we made our way to the double decker buses and were whisked off to our first destination.
We arrived at a canel basin in the heart of Manchester near the old set of Coronation street. (which I thought was going to be our location....but alas it wasn't) We stood around for a few minutes as Spencer Tunick said a few words which I could not hear, nor could the people around me. All of a sudden people started stripping off so I followed suit. We all stood around the basin, some on the dock, some on a bridge and some in an old open canel barge. We all stooped over to represent the people in the stylised paintings of the Salford born painter T.S.Lowery. ( hence the name of the theatre) During the shoot a resident who lived in one of the barges poped his head out only to be greeted by 350 stationary naked people. We proceeded to meanderd around for a few seconds until we heard the instruction "stop" were we would again all stand stooped over as still as possible but you could see most people shivering as it was freeeeeeeezing. We repeated this 4 or 5 times and then hastily got dressed (did I mention it was freeeeeezing) apart from about 40 "grey hair men" who had a seperate shoot shaking hand with each other. On the registration application acceptance email we were ask to bring a dressing gown or similar so it could be worn as we were being transported between location to save time getting dressed/undressed but it was so cold that everyone got dressed and donned the gown. We boarded our buses and set off to our next location.
We arrived back at The Lowery and congregated in the foyer. A few minutes of instruction then time to strip off again. We herded out of the entrance and proceeded to spread out over the plaza. The shoot was very similar to the previous one, mill about until told to stop and stand still. Also similar to the previous shoot.....it was freezing. With The Lowery building on one side and the shopping center on the other it made a nice little passage way in which the wind could be channeled. The photographer ask for more people to move further to the back from his raised platform. I obliged and found myself a little niche where I was some what protected for the wind. At this point I saw the only person of the day which (I presume) succumb to the cold and scurry back inside. (or did he need the toilet) We all walked about nude but nobody was bothered about any one else. Did not matter if you were fat, thin, short, tall, big boobs or flat chested. We were all naked together. walk down the road dressed like Napoleon you feel like an idiot. Do the same at a fancy dress party and you fit right in but on this shoot I noticed my "little man." I don't have much to boast about to start with but factor in the cold, you at least want to put in a good show!...................oh well, carry on and think of England. Shoot over. Commence the scramble though the doorways to get to the warmth. Clothes on, get on bus - next location.
The experience just got super sonic. Concorde at the Runway visitor park at Manchester airport. We waited on on the buses whilst a separate smaller shoot was taking place for men of a certain criteria that evades me now. ( age I think.) Eventually we entered the hanger where Concorde was housed. At last a warm location. Did I mention the other location were freeeeeezing. It was here where I heard one of the best lines ever spoken. Spencer tunick announced "OK ladies take off your clothes and follow me"....and they did. I have tried that line myself and have now been arrested 3 time so far. After the women had there short separate shoot the men joined them. All the men stood in lines slightly bent over whilst the women sat in lines also slightly bent over. Move closer, move closer was the instruction as nearly 200 men comically shuffled millimeter by millimeter closer to each other horrified by the fact that their naked selves were approaching another naked man with his bum sticking out. The women on the other hand had no qualms about resting their heads on the back of the lady in front of them. The next position we took was to all stand facing the Concorde, most on the ground but some on the steps leading to one of the doors of the aircraft and point at it. Clothes on, board bus off we go.
Arriving at the car park of Manchester city fc's car park we all thought the location was the stadium. (They had ask to use Old Trafford but were declined.) There are exterior spiral exit ramps that would have made a good image as well as the seating or on the pitch (all of witch Spencer Tunick has used elsewhere as locations before or since.) but alas it was not to be. The location was the car park that we had arrived on with some old disused gas storage towers in the back ground. We all got naked again and stood in groups of twenty. We all face in the same direction within the group, slightly bent over and in a as good a circle as we could form. The groups were spread out from each other and faced different directions. It was about now that 3 young lads, whilst taking a short cut across the car park on their bikes hit jackpot. They had 350 naked people posing infront of them. With surprise and eyes popping out they had a story to tell their mates at school the next day. The car parks are open and exposed to the wind so guess what.........that right, it was freezing. An "ooooooo" could be heard from the furthest group of naked people, then from the next furthest and so on. This indicated that a gust of wind was traveling across the expance of the car park. Brace yourself, impact. We followed suit by exhaling an "ooooo" It was bitterly cold. " you sir, move in a bit......sir.....move in......no not you..........you........no the guy at the back with the bald head........no the other one" these request went on for what seemed like hours. Someone was out of place. For god sake pay attention. Many "ooooo's" passed while this £@%&£! was out of place. Many expletives could be heard being uttered under peoples breath. Click, click, picture taken, clothes on , warmth, sigh. The women then went onto two of the double decker buses, stripped off and pushed their bodies against the window on one side of each of the buses. Women every where squeezing into every little gap they could to fill all the glass. "That it" was heard and it was all over. The women got dressed and no more nudity was to be seen that day.
We traveled back to The Lowery and congregated in the foyer.It was still morning. From registration to now was approximately 6 hour I would guess. Spencer Tunick said a few words of thank and announced that there would be a after shoot party at a bar in Manchester city center later that night. I had every intention of going but with being on my own and my social and interactive skills being zero I bottled it. On the 12/7/2010 to the 26/9/2010 there was the "everyday people" exhibition at The Lowery. Showcasing all the images from the installation. The first night was exclusively for the participant of the shoot. We could collect our exclusive print of one of the location that we pose at. Spencer Tunick also attended so people were able to talk to him, get photo and get their prints sighed. The experience was very enjoyable and I have been on a few more installation by spencer tunick since and intend to do more. There is a DVD of this event.
The only 2 down side I can say about the event was the women kept getting dressed and it was freeeeeeeezing.
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2nd MAY 2010
MY FIRST TIME
part 1 march 2006
I decided to stay at a nude resort purely and simply for a one time experience. It was in my mental "to do before I die" list along with a parachute jump, swim with dolphins and sharks, Hug a lion and a tiger etc. ( all of which I have now done.) In 2003/4 I had a brief look on the internet to look for places to stay but quickly decided to use my remaining weeks holiday to fit a new bathroom suite that I had been putting off for months. I did not give it another thought until late 2005 when I was trawling the interweb for a holiday destination, again to use up my last remaining weeks holiday and I came across a line " just had a great week at Eagle peak". I read the article (or what ever it was) and it turned out to be a nude resort in Spain. I had not put the reference "nude" or similar in my original search so it had just been pure chance that a place that you could bare all came up. I thought to myself that I had never been nude resort, never been to Spain and I had never been on a beach holiday so why not give it a go !
I did not have any desire to go on a beach holiday as I would get bored lying on a beach instead of my usual rushing about sight seeing but there are towns, castle, mountain, cave and more to occupy myself during my stay. I also had no desire to go to Spain as I associated it with uninteresting beach holidays and the embarrassing British lager lout but Eagle peak was near a destination where the Spanish would frequent. Of course there was the small matter of me stripping off in public to consider. Could I do it ? It was on my list and I did want to experience the the naked "event" so after two days of thinking should I, shouldn't I ( but not so much could I, couldn't I) I decided "yep I going to do it." I contacted Eagle peak, booked a week in March and paid the deposit. As soon as I had handed over some money, because I am as tight as a duck arse the thought of not going never came close to entering my head. It was a foregone conclusion so I had no hesitations or worries .................apart from the....................erection !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had never been naked in public nor seen any of the public naked. I had never even been to topless beach or strip bar etc. On the few occasions I have seen a female in the buff, adult activities would pursue and my autonomous penis was free to do what it desired. I had no moral objections what so ever about consenting adults walking about naked in front of each other in a none sexual environment. ( I have no objection of consenting adults walking about naked in sexual environment but this is not we are talking about.) Time after time I read that you won't get an erection at a naturist resort/ event, followed by the line " but if you do........." I would be the "but". I would be the inexperienced naked amateur that would be the exception that proved the rule. After all there will be naked women walking about, real live naked women.......yes women....naked......actually sunbathing naked in front of me. Over the following weeks I overdosed on naturist web sites looking at naked people of all shape and ages to acclimatise myself to seeing naked people. I made sure that I stayed away from the more explicit images that were labelled "naturist" as not to sexualise the event.
Finally the time came. I landed at Malaga airport, collected my hire car and set off on the hour or so drive to Eagle peak. It was a nice sunny day and a pleasant drive to my destination. During the trip my opinion of Spain was how nice it was. The only reference I had previously was from the news reports of all the larger louts on their package holidays. I arrived at Eagle peak and rang the door bell. The door opened and Peter's ( the owner) head appeared. I explained who I was and he invited me in. I found myself stood in the hall way confronted by a naked man but surprisingly it didn't feel completely out of the ordinary. I put this down to the fact that I had visited Peter's web site so often that I was used to seeing him naked, in fact I don't think I had seen a photo of him with clothes on. He gave me a quick tour of the premises and then I was left alone in my apartment.
I took off all my clothes. There was no plan of action. No stripping off in stages. I had long since made the decision to do it and I had forked out the cash so there was no issue, no hesitation. The apartment I had booked was a studio apartment that had a glass door. Technically I could be viewed from outside but in reality probably not. Because I knew I could potentially be seen undressing and did it willingly I had this feeling of something being slightly off, a little strange. Not in a negative way but similar to the feeling you get when you leave house and you are sure you have forgotten something but you don't know what. Without pausing I made my way outside on to the my apartments patio area. " I'm naked in public" I thought to myself and it did not phase me at all. I proceeded to stroll around grounds conscious that I was on show but it was quite a pleasant new experience but all the time in the back of my mind I had this lingering though " somethings not quite right. (normal) Of course I knew it was the fact that I had no clothes on and I was outside, something you don't do in the "real" world. Due to the fact that the other guests were not at the complex I decided to go down to the nude beach to experience the social aspect of naturism. I got dressed, collected my beach gear and set off on the ten minute walk to the beach. The nude beach was medium sized cove not visible from the other beaches. I walk along the short path that led you to nude beach with some slight anticipation of what see and how I would feel. Before the beach came into view I spotted a naked man with his young daughter looking for sea life in the rock pools. I was surprised how normal this felt and even though this was more or less the first time I had seen a naked person in public it did not feel out of place. I took a second glance " yep, they are definitely naked" and carried on, reassured that I was at the correct place. The beach came into view and I was a little disappointed in the fact that it was sparsely populated. It was only March so the season had not started but it was a Sunday and the weather was nice so I would have expected there to be more inhabitance. I found my spot on the beach and I pace all me "beach gear" on the ground. I decided to strip off before I laid out my towel etc. There was no " go on you can do it", "go for it" "go on, go on" and so on in my mind. I just did it without a thought. My shorts dropped to the ground and I whipped off my t shirt. I was standing there naked in public. Where were the fireworks, where was the fanfare, why was no one pointing at me shouting " my god he's naked." nothing, not a thing. It was a bit of an anticlimax. I stood there naked for a few seconds feeling a bit empty and disappointed and then I went about the business of laying out my towel. I lay there thinking that "this seems so normal." I expect it was the fact that I was on a beach where few clothes are usually worn anyway. It was more unusual that I was on a beach at all. Still today I would not consider wearing just a pair of swimming trunk to the beach, the least I would don would be a pair of shorts and a t shirt but for me nude is perfectly fine. I lounged about for a time people watching and then packed up and went back to my apartment.
That was it ! Another item ticked off my bucket list. I can not recall the first time I came into contact with nude people back at the resort or when I had my first nude one to one conversation. It took me about 3 or 4 years to go to any nude place's and not have to aclimatise to being nude as I only stripped off on average about one every six months. I did not even nude up at home so it took me some time for my brain to adjust to accept public nudity as the norm. The holiday itself was the most relaxing I had booked up to that point. It was not the fact that I was naked, although that may have contributed especially when interacting with other people which I am not very good at. It was because I was not rushing about all over the place sight seeing. I did do some exploring but it was at very leisurely place and only if I felt like it. Unlike other holidays were I would push myself to see all that could be seen in the little time I was there. That was the first time I had stayed in one place more than 3 days. It was the first time I had unpacked my suitcase and used the wardrobe and it was the first time woke up when I woke up. The only time I used an alarm was on the day of my fight, just to be sure I woke up in time.
The most surprising element of the holiday was how non eventful being nude around other nude people was and how easily I accepted it. ( although I had accepted the notion of social nudity before I set off ) Also how nonsexual it was. The erection "thought" did not enter my mind at any time during my stay. I found that women's bodies ( or men's from a women's prospective - I would think) are some what equalise when naked. Women with a so called perfect figure I find relatively plain when naked. ( don't get me wrong, they are still desirable to look at) Go to a non nude beach or walk along the sea front and see all the women in their summer/ beach attire and you are much more likely to find that more stimulating than if they were naked. I found it was being surrounded by people naked that was more of an issue that I had to get used to rather than myself being naked in front of other people.
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I have had many other "first times" experiences, for example my first time nude camping, my first time driving naked and so on. I have covered them in "my first time pt 2"
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My first time pt 2
These are some short accounts of my various nude first times.
First nude beach massage.
My first nude beach massage was in July 2017 when I was staying at the Vera Playa club hotel in Vera Playa, Spain. It was just a short walk down from the hotel. It was a nude massage on the nude beach but the masseuse stayed dressed, a one piece swimming costume on that day. It was performed on a proper massage table under a gazebo. As it was a " standard " nude massage in public she only did my back, arms and legs ( all whilst lying on my stomach ) which means half an hour is sufficient to be fully satisfied. . She was obviously experienced and knew what she was doing as it was a well executed firm massage. The experience of a massage in the sun was superb. I have had a non nude beach massage before and that was just a good but the nude variant just enhances the experience a little bit more. You have to try a beach massage ( nude or non-nude ) you won't regret it.
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First nude shopping
My first nude shopping experience was technically at Cap D'age in France but it was in the naturist zone. I was staying in a self catering apartment and had already done my weeks shopping for food in the cheaper " Lidl " supermarket outside in non-nude land. I went to the convenience store sized supermarket on the resorts grounds purely to do my first nude shopping experienced. It was a strange sensation to be nude whist shopping in a store even though I had been nude for the last 2 or 3 day previous but that had been on or around the beach which is a more "appropriate" ( normal ) place to be nude. I sauntered around the store casually checking out the prices for comparison and to extend my nude shopping experience. As I leant over for certain items I was conscious not to let my "meat" touch the store meat. This would not be able to occur but it was in the back of my mind. I eventually chose a litre of fruit juice ( that I didn't need ) and went to pay the non-nude cashier at the counter. The next time I go to Cap D'age ( 2018 ) I think I will do a little more shopping there, even though it is a little more expensive just to get the whole experience, shopping trolley etc.
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I have been to other shops in the grounds of resorts or in hotels but my first nude shopping out in the real world was when I was staying at the Vera Playa club hotel, Spain July 2017. Approximately 50 metres from the front entrance of the hotel there are shops, restaurants and a few night clubs. I had witnessed a few people eating at the restaurants at lunch time whist nude but none in the shops. I had wanted to check out the price of sun tan lotion for sale in one of the shops that sold all your holiday paraphernalia that you could wish for. I had planned to pop in as I passed but I was always dressed when I did so and I had wanted to be naked whilst browsing to tick off another nude experience. As I was walking nude in the hotel foyer I decided to nip out and do my nude brows. I entered the deserted shop and commenced checking the price of the lotion. As expected it was far more expensive than the non-nude supermarket a few minutes away. I then perused some of the Vera Playa fridge magnet but there were non that took my fancy. By now the shop assistant/ owner had entered, we exchanged pleasantries and I left. Although the shop was in the naturist zone of Vera Playa I am counting that as my first nude shopping experience. I did go to a small convenience store opposite the aforementioned shop each morning for some fresh bread. As I had never noticed anybody nude in there, so I was unfamiliar with the etiquette I played it safe and stayed dressed.
SPENCER TUNICK INSTALLATION, KASTEEL VAN GAASBEEK, BELGIUM.
JULY 9TH 2011.
On attending a previous installation in Manchester/Salford and thoroughly enjoying the occasion I decided to take part in any future events that I was able to participate in. I completely missed one that was staged in france, it had come and gone before I even know about it ( 20/21 August 2010 ) but in 2011 he announced an installation in Belgium at a castle just outside Brussels. I put my name down for it ( and was accepted ) and then booked my flight and hotel. I had been to Brussels a couple of times before but never had the chance to look around properly so I made it into a 4 day short city break.
The installation was at Kasteel van Gaasbeek ( Gassbeek castle ) Lennik, about 10 km southwest of Brussels. The start of the event was early Saturday morning. ( 5 or 6 am as I recall ) As this was too early for public transport, and me being too tight to pay for a taxi, I got the last metro train from Brussels to Erasme station ( terminus station on line 5 ) which was between 11 pm and midnight and walked the last 5.5 km/3.4 miles to the castle. I arrived at the entrance and stood about for half an hour or so. There was 3 or 4 other people milling about , killing time until the signing in process started. More people started to turn up so I decided to queue up. There were 6 or so lanes leading up to a number of large gazebos. Each lane had numerous letter above them, a - e, f - j and so on, which indicated the lane you should use to line up in. ( the letter that corresponds with you christian name. ) I was second in the queue behind a lady whose husband was stood in a different queue. Why they did not use surnames as the deciding factor for who stood where I will never know as a married couple, which would have the same surname could have stayed together.
It started to drizzle but with foresight I had brought along an umbrella. I shared my shelter with the lady in front who was from Belgium and of course could spoke perfect English. This meant we could have a conversation which helped pass the time.
Some time later the signing in staff arrived and the process began. I gave my name and was ticked off the participance list and made my way through the entrance. I walked the 500 meters or so to front of the castle and waited around until the crowd had expanded to the approximate 400 volunteers that had signed up. After a while we were instructed to strip off. Behind us there were x amount of short wooden posts in the ground. Each had a number ( or letter , I forget which ) on top which would make it easier to identify where we had left our clothes when we retured to get dressed. Now naked, we all congrigated in a group . As it was just past dawn it was still a nippy, a t-shirt would have been enough to take away the chill but after an hour or so it had warmed up sufficiently for there no longer be an issue. The media was in attendance ( press and t.v. ) but they were kept approximatly 200 meters away so they could take group shots but not any indiviual close up shots. The t.v. media had been given permission to interveiw indiviuals beforehand but of coures the particepance would be able to give their express permission.
I remember arriving and departing the event quite well but the actual photoshoot is a bit vague. I recall we all lay on our backs in front of the castle, some on the ground, some on the wall ect. Another pose we paired up ( male/female ) and the guy held the lady up by the shoulders as she lay flat. At the end we had a big naked pillow fight with the contents ( feathers ) flying every where. Best to look at the photos to get a sence of what I mean in my account. All too soon the installation ended. There was another part of the installation the next day which only involved 30 or 40 people. Those who were interested were ask to form a single row so they could select the suitable candidates but it became a stampede of naked bodies trying to get selected. I thought I would stay and attempt to be chosen but it became embarrassing the way people were acting so I pushed my way out of the melee and along with many others went back to my numbered ( or lettered ) stake, found my clothes and began to un-nude.
I walked back to the metro station, which didn't seem as far as when I had arrived. Maybe the fact it was light so I could see ( and knew ) where I was going helped. Plus other people were about and I could look at the veiws which help pass the time. I arrived back at my hotel around midday.(ish) I then went out to get something to eat ( I had not eaten since the day before ) and did some sightseeing. I had an early night as similar to the food situation I had not slept since the day before. I then had a plaesent few days exploring Brussels.
Some weeks later I received a print of one of the images from the instalation that all participant are giving for talking part. You could have picked up the print in person from an event held for the unveiling of art work ( maybe at the castle, or an art gallery etc ) but traveling to Belgium I deemed it a little bit too far for a photo.
Until the next installation.............
