Lady Gaga invited to mass strip-off in Sydney

Thursday, 25 February 2010 11:40 AM Jay Salazar

American artist Spencer Tunick, who is internationally reknowned for his temporary, site-specific installations that feature masses of nude people posing in public places, has issued an official invitation to Lady Gaga to come in her birthday suit and join hundreds of unclothed Australians on the steps of the iconic Sydney Opera House on March 1, according to the Herald Sun.

Tunick has been organizing installations of live nudes, which he then documents extensively with video and photography, since 1992. He once told the The Daily Telegraph that he "is trying to create flesh architecture."

The opera house project is part of the 2010 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, an annual cultural event and the foremost festival of its kind in the world. Tunick's installation, his first in the city, was developed especially for the Mardi Gras, and is entitled, "The Base."

Michael Rolik, chief executive officer of the festival, was enthusiastic about the possible participation of Lady Gaga, describing the singer as a powerhouse performance artist and an ardent supporter of the global gay and lesbian community.

The provocative pop star would not have to identify herself if she does not want to, Tunick said. "I was thinking she could slip in there anonymously and no one would know she was there. I'd be glad to not tell a soul. Or maybe she would want to pose, maybe she would want people to know she was there but just couldn't be found in the crowd. You know, then it could be like 'where's Lady Gaga?'''

The star is noted for her outlandish outfits which run the gamut from the risqué to the downright bizarre. An ARTINFO article observed that she might not be recognizable without anything on. Nick Obourn of True/Slant thought that Tunick's invitation was an opportunity for Lady Gaga to dispel the rumors that she is a hermaphrodite, pointing out that she was halfway to total nudity anyway, if the current cover of Q Magazine is any indication.

'Crazy thesis'

The Grammy Award–winning singer, a former New York art student and burlesque stripper, had earlier cited Tunick as an inspiration, telling the Telegraph that she had done "a crazy thesis, like 80 pages on Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst, great pop artists."

When word reached him, Tunick said he was "sort of speechless" at the "nice compliment" because "it's one thing to enjoy someone's work or collect their artwork, but it's another thing for someone to write about your work."

Tunick reportedly also wanted to read the singer's thesis, in case it contains tips for financial success.

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