Transracial was just in the Holy Land for a week or so — and now we’re back. Not only are we armed with olive oil and groovy Israeli fashions, we come with this little newsy tidbit.
You know the photographer Spencer Tunick — the dude who likes to shoot thousands of naked people in ultra-urban (or unusual) locations. Well the man is planning on heading to Israel to do mass-nude shoots in Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea.
Turns out the folks over there in Israel are divided over the plan. One one hand, the Tel Aviv municipal council is all for the naked photo-making — and has made clear they’re gonna support the effort. “This is a wonderful way of telling the world about Tel Aviv and its modern and vibrant nature,” said a city spokesman of the shoot, which will take place in the city’s newly renovated port.
As for the Dead Sea, regional politicos are a bit less sanguine.
Dov Litvinoff, head of the Tamar Regional Council which is adjacent to the Dead Sea said, “I categorically object to this project and have no intention of supporting it neither logistically nor in terms of budget.”
“I am a very liberal and open person but as a public official I don’t think that the council which I head should invest in a project so controversial. After all, the Dead Sea belongs to everyone. A nude display of thousands of nudists does not promote the Dead Sea, it promotes the whim of someone who calls himself an artist.”
Nonetheless, it appears as if more senior folks than Litvinoff conclude Tunick’s work is indeed art and will endeavor to have an Israeli edition come to fruition. Indeed, Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov says the project will do wonders to improve Israel’s image abroad (especially in light if this week’s Biden bitch-slap) — though he does concede local sensitivities will be honored.
“We believe that a solution will be found which will allow the implementation of the project while considering all sectors of society,” the Tourism Ministry reports.
Tunick is slated to arrive in Israel in April to scout sites. Let’s hope he has a major sun-screen sponsor along with him on this project. That Dead Sea sun is a scorcher.
This is a disgrace. He and everyone else who promotes such garbage should be ashamed. One day he will stand before God and have to respond to such mockery of a Holy Place.