Category Archives: Bodypaintings

Beautiful Bellies

 

Our artists have been transforming the faces of New York for over 25 years.  Here they bring their artistry to the most beautiful canvas of all.  

 

Custom hand-painted designs offering a mother-to-be the opportunity to celebrate her and her baby’s transformation with an original, beautiful work of art. Though the bodypaint will easily wash away, the photograph and memories remain to be cherished for a lifetime.

How do you come up with the design?

You will correspond and collaborate with an artist to come up with a personal, meaningful design.  Our artists can be inspired by your family heritage, nursery designs, or cultural images from around the world.

Where does the painting take place?

A belly can be painted in the comfort of your own home or in a photographer’s studio of your choice. The painting itself takes around one hour, depending on the design.  Once the painting is complete, a photograph helps capture the beautiful canvas.  You may wish to share the experience with loved ones and include belly painting as a baby shower activity. Though the paint will wash away, the photograph will be cherished for a lifetime.

What is it like to be painted?

Your belly will be hand-painted using soft sponges and brushes, a relaxing therapeutic sensation. The make-up used is an FDA approved water based make-up that is very safe for both mommy and baby. The make-up itself is very lightweight comes off easily with soap and water.

Contact us for prices and more information: info@agostinoarts.com

 

“Thanks again for the amazing experience…you gave me the most wonderful gift!” -Heidi, Brooklyn

Consider a gift certificate for a pregnant belly painting as a unique baby shower gift.

Go to our website for more information on all our programs: agostinoarts.com

 

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Japanese Demons and Kabuki Spooky —re-post

by Christopher Agostino
(the heaviest traffic on the site these past few days are people searching for scary stuff like demon imagery, so I am re-posting one from last Halloween season  — and come see me at the Prospect Park Zoo this Sat and Sunday (Oct 27+28) to get your face painted — and I will be telling a new mix of demon tales from my storytelling show: The Eye of the Demon)
I paint a lot of demon faces this time of year, many inspired by Japanese imagery and folktales. In 2008 particularly, I put an effort into exploring new face designs based on Japanese masks and kabuki makeup. That year I was painting at the Transworld Halloween Show  for Kryolan Professional Makeup and took the approach at the event to paint horror faces based on world mask designs, as a contrast to the traditional zombies and skulls, so most of the examples here are from around that time.
     
This mask is a contemporary example of a Namahage Demon from the Akita Prefecture. It is worn for a traditional Lunar New Year celebration which sounds like Halloween in reverse, as young men wear the masks and visit people’s houses to scare their children and admonish them to listen to their parents—or the demons will come back! The parents reward the young men with sake and food. Although frightening, Namahage are said to be gods who bring good fortune, an example of the beliefs connected to spirit worship traditions in which powerful demonic spirits can become protective when they are appeased. Check out the Japanese movies Onmyoji and Onmyoji 2 for a fun depiction of demonic possession and the Ying-Yang master that has to restore the balance.
      In folktales, Japanese demons come with various descriptions. Some may be red or blue faced, with fangs, horns and one, two or three eyes. In the tale of the famous samurai Raiko and his battle with the Goblin Earth Spider, he is attacked by an army that drops out of the storm clouds, including animals that walk like men, beings with three claws and three eyes—one with eyes in its hands—and long serpents with human heads. There’s a few ideas for facepainting. At an exhibit of prints by the artist Kuniyoshi last year at the Japan Society I was very jazzed to see two illustrations of Raiko vs. the Earth Spider with imagery that has re-invigorated the way I tell and depict that tale through faces.
     
The prevalence of such beliefs within the medieval Japanese culture allowed for the growth in Edo province of “Aragato,” the style of Kabuki theater which produced the famous makeup for its samurai hero and for the ghosts and demons he would battle. The origin of Kabuki and other Japanese theater in shamanic ritual and spirit worship is evident in the hero’s ability to do the impossible because they have allowed themselves to be possessed by a powerful kami (“supernatural deity”) and thus have become hitokami (“man-gods”). Continue reading →

Body Painting Video: Andy Golub & Craig Tracy — From Times Square to the Metropolitan

 

click to watch the video (photo by Udor Photography)

 Video: Andy Golub and Craig Tracy — from Christopher Agostino

Andy Golub has an ongoing project of body painting in public in Times Square, New York. On September 29, 2012 he was joined by Craig Tracy, who was in New York to receive a Unique Art Award for Bodypainting. Craig invited me to come and see the process, and Andy was gracious enough to let me join in with some of the finishing touches as they were completing the body. Then we hopped in a cab and headed uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the current Andy Warhol exhibit to photograph the painted model in juxtaposition with iconic works of art. The model is Trisha Benton, the photographer is Udor, the music is by The Meters (in homage to Craig’s home town) and I did the video. Continue reading →