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Street Artists are Going Around Making Imprints of Their Naked Bodies

BODY-PAINT-STREET-ART

MirrorTwo cheeky artists left unique street art emblazoned across a city – by painting their naked bodies and pressing themselves against walls.

Artist Mik Shida, 27, and model girlfriend Zheani Sparkes, 21, daubed themselves in blue house paint to leave the distinctive patterns at 20 locations across Melbourne, Australia. …

Melbourne-based Mik, who has been a street artist for the last 15 years, said: “There were not many people around when we did it, we picked locations where there wouldn’t be a lot of traffic on a Sunday and it was 7am so no one even noticed us at all. … We used normal exterior house paint so it was extremely difficult to scrub off afterwards.

“There are always some people who do not approve and there was a certain element of it being a statement but it was not meant to be a big rebellious thing.

I’m no philistine. I’ve got the appreciation for the arts that befits a man of my education. Which is to say I took two art classes as easy, homework-free blowoff electives at the state college I went to. So I’ve got some culture in me.

And what those classes taught me is that art is subjective. One man’s masterpiece is another man’s graffiti. But my life outside of academia has taught me a very objective lesson. That no one is a “street artist for the last 15 years” unless he isn’t talented enough to ever sell anything. And smearing your goth chick girlfriend’s titties with Benjamin Moore and talking her into pressing them against walls – while fun in theory – is simple fucking vandalism.

And a life spent being a weekend DIYer has taught me one other much, much more practical lesson. If you’re going to use vag and balls as your brushes, it’s a good idea to avoid weatherproof, exterior, oil-based paint. That shit is worse than super glue to get off even if you just smear some on your knuckles. Take a tip from the pros. Zheani Sparkes’ snooch is going to sealed up tighter than a window that was painted shut until she’s well into menopause. Better yet, if this is the best Mik can come with after 15 years in the street artist business, this might be the right time to consider getting a job.

@jerrythornton1