The world bodypainting festival

body-painting-festival

Some say body painting is the oldest form of art, dating back to early civilization. In the last dozen years, with a growing acceptance of offbeat performance, the World Bodypainting Festival has attracted thousands of people.

The festival began in 1996 in Austria. Over the years, it has draw hundreds of artists and models, from all over the world. Here are highlights of the first South Korean competition.

Face painting as a tradition of some cultures

Body Painting could very well be the most ancient form of artistic expression. Ancient tribes adorned themselves with body art in ceremonies and occasions. Painting the body and the face with clay and natural pigments was considered sacred in these cultures. Some indigenous tribes of Australia and Africa still practice this art.
Young brides in the Indian Subcontinent get their hand and bodies painted with paste of powdered henna or mehendi.
Clowns and Actors have painted their faces for centuries to entertain their audiences.

Histori of traditional Japanese tattoo designs - Yakuza tattoo

While Japanese tattoos and traditional Japanese tattoo designs have become very popular in America and many western countries they still hold a huge negative connotation within Japan. This comes from the fact that sometime between 300 and 600 AD tattoos were used to mark criminals. This is no longer practiced today yet there are many carryovers from these early tattoo traditions. This is changing and as Japan becomes more modernized or "Westernized" many of the younger generations have discovered the deep traditions and hsitory of tattoos in their county and more and more are sporting their own tattoos and body piercings. Yet for the larger percentage of the county and anyone over 30 years of age or so tattoos are still considered as for lower class or Yakuza (The Japanese Organized Crime Gangs).

 yakuza-tattoo