HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE STRIPPED OFF AND BRAVED THE COLD MORNING ENGLISH AIR IN THE NAME OF ART. THE VOLUNTEERS POSED FOR AMERICAN ARTIST SPENCER TUNICK IN A PARK IS SALFORD, AS HE AIMED TO REFLECT THE WORK OF ENGLISH ARTIST LS LOWRY. NAKED FIGURES, MALE AND FEMALE, YOUNG AND OLD, SPREAD OUT ACROSS PEEL PARK, AS TUNICK GAVE THEM INSTRUCTIONS THROUGH A LOUDSPEAKER FROM A STEPLADDER AT THE TOP OF A BANK. THE INSTALLATION, 'EVERYDAY PEOPLE', FOCUSES ON ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN, REFERENCING THE COMPOSITION STYLE OF THE ARTIST KNOWN FOR HIS 'MATCHSTICK MEN'. IT WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE LS LOWRY GALLERY TO CELEBRATE ITS 10th BIRTHDAY. TUNICK HAS PHOTOGRAPHED SIMILAR PIECES AT THE SIDNEY OPERA HOUSE IN AUSTRALIA AND THE INSTITUT CULTURA IN BARCELONA, SPAIN, AS WELL AS AT THE SAATCHI GALLERY IN LONDON AND THE BALTIC IN GATESHEAD. OVER 4,000 PEOPLE APPLIED FOR 1,000 PLACES FOR 'EVERYDAY PEOPLE', WHICH IS BEING STAGED IN EIGHT SECRET LOCATIONS AROUND SALFORD AND MANCHESTER. FOR EACH LOCATION SHOOT 500 VOLUNTEERS ARE BEING USED , AND ARE TRANSPORTED BY HEATED BUSES FROM EACH LOCATION. AT THE MOST RECENT SHOOT, THE MASS OF BARE BOTTOMS RUSHED DOWN THE BANKS OF THE PARK, WHERE THE 8am MORNING SUN CAST SHADOWS THROUGH THE BLOSSOMING TREES. TUNICK ASKED THE PARTICIPANTS TO SPREAD OUT AROUND 20 FEET APART, AND AT TIMES TOLD INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE TO MOVE INTO CERTAIN SPACES OF GRASS. HE GOT THE CROWD TO JUMP UP AND DOWN AND WAVE THEIR ARMS ABOUT TO LOOSEN UP AND KEEP WARM. 'ARE YOU OK?', HE SHOUTED. 'YEAH!', HIS NAKED SUBJECTS SHOUTED BACK. THEN WHEN HE WAS HAPPY WITH THE COMPOSITION, HE TOLD THE WOMEN TO LOOK EAST TOWARDS THE SUN, AND THE MEN TO FACE WEST. FOR ANOTHER SHOT HE ASKED THEM TO WALK ABOUT AND FREEZE, AND FOR ANOTHER HE ARRANGED THEM IN GROUPS AROUND CIRCULAR FLOWER BEDS. SPEAKING AFTER THE EVENT, TUNICK SAID: 'I THINK IT WENT REALLY WELL. I THINK WE GOT IT. I THINK THE PEOPLE IN SALFORD HAD THE INTENTION TO MAKE ART. I FEEL LIKE I DIDN'T MISS ANYTHING. I MADE SOME REALLY GOOD WORKS HERE.' ASKED ABOUT PEEL PARK AND THE ASSOCIATION WITH LOWRY, HE SAID: 'THIS IS THE ONLY LOCATION I'M USING WHICH IS THE SAME AS HIS.' HE EXPLAINED WHY HE IS FASCINATED BY THE NAKED HUMAN BODY: 'I THINK BEING NAKED CREATES A NEW MEANING FOR THE BACKGROUND. IT CREATES A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONCRETE WORLD AND THE REAL WORLD. THE REAL WORLD IS US AND EVERYTHING AROUND US IS TEMPORARY.'
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