A Shot at the World Bodypainting Festival

Enter into the world of competitive body painting and you step into the midst a frenetic combination of art, beauty, logistics, and Beat the Clock.

With only six hours to complete a full presentation, artist teams pull out their brushes, sponges, stencils, and airbrushes to complete a work that is judged not only on the creativity and artistic merit of the finished product but the presentation by the model, or “canvas,” to the jury.

The results can be stunning, even amazing. The works, however impressive, are merely temporary – a basic fact that leads to a unique symbiotic relationship between the artist/model side and the photographer who is faced with the challenge of capturing these works during their brief existence.

The “big game” in bodypainting is the World Bodypainting Festival in Portschach am Worthersee in southern Austria. The 40^th annual event has just concluded. The artist and model awards have been presented.

When the festival main days conclude, the baton is passed to the attending photographers who have little over two months to submit their portfolios of the event to the festival team for judging.

The site of the festival is itself a treat. Portschach, just north of Austria’s border with Slovenia and little known to Americans, is an exclusive resort town on a crystal clear lake surrounded by beautiful, tall mountains. In many ways the village harkens back to romance of American seaside resorts of the 1930s and 40s.

The 2011 festival was located for the first time on this peninsula that interspersed stages, artists’ tents, and vendors among large shade trees with views of another picturesque Austrian town across the lake with it’s church standing center among the white walled, orange roofed buildings.

Yes, there are bare breasts aplenty at the WBF. But this is a family event attended by young and old, not an erotic carnival. Indeed, young teens and tweens even from the USA attended workshop classes and assisted with the body painting. However, similar events in the United States limit access to those over 21.

Those thinking of dipping their toes into the 2012 WBF when it comes around next July could get a leg-up from our first-time experience:

The most critical lesson learned is the necessity to register early. This rule is especially critical to obtain one of the limited number of photographer slots. While photography is permitted, even encouraged, throughout the event, enrolling as a photographer is necessary to enter the photo competition and to have access to preferential shooting areas during the judging and stage events. An early sign up is also best to ensure entry into World Bodypainting Academy classes and workshops that take place around Portschach in the days leading up to the festival.

If you are thinking of competing in one or more of the bodypainting categories (brush & sponge, airbrush, special effects, face painting, and ultraviolet) make your connections and form your teams. While makeup is widely available for purchase at the festival, bring your own airbrush.

That said, my wife, who has bodypainting experience but no prior plans to compete, teamed up on site with a talented and captivating Spanish artist and circus performer to paint two Austrian volunteer models on the second festival day and placed quite respectably in the highly competitive, amateur category.

Lodging options in Portschach are plentiful and vary from camping to five star hotels. Staying in the village itself is not mandatory, however, as there is excellent and frequent rail service to the local train station located only 300 meters from the festival main entrance. It is practical to stay, for example, in even higher end resort lodging in Velden to the west or in less expensive quarters a few minutes to the northeast in Klagenfurt – also the location of the nearest commercial airport.

The most convenient airports with flights from the United States are Vienna, Austria; Venice, Italy; and Munich, Germany. We chose to fly into Munich and rent a car. The trip to the WBF in our little, black Seat hatchback, was just under four hours and passed through unforgettable alpine scenery. The roads are wide and uncrowded autobahn (freeways). Those who choose this route need to be forewarned that Austria charges a toll for autobahn access that is paid by buying a windshield sticker (a “vignette”) from the first rest stop or other vendor when entering the country. Vignettes may be purchased for as little as 10 days, but you might be lucky enough to find that the car you rent may already have one!

The road trip, however, is not for the tunnel-phobic. There are quite a number of places where the roads pass under mountains, and some of the tunnels are close to five miles long. Toll charges, in addition to the vignette, add an additional 10 euros each way between Munich and Portschach.

Another challenge for many Americans is the language. Austria is a German-speaking country. Enough English is spoken to enable basic communication with Americans. It would not hurt, however, to learn a little simple German. For that matter, studying international traffic and road signs would be a good idea, as well. Within the festival, English is commonly used as participants this year originated from 48 countries. However, when signing up for courses or workshops, double check whether it will be conducted in English or German.

Visiting photographers will notice an abundance of high end, professional photographic equipment in use by other photographers at the festival. Challenging lighting conditions will be encountered. The artists’ tents can be dimly lit, and photography of day and night stage events is similar to the environment at large outdoor concerts. Fast lenses and a zoom of at least 200mm are essential. Many photographers also use flash either as fill-in or to provide the main light source, as festival events last well into the night. Some also find a monopod to be helpful. Nikon is an event sponsor and offered free camera cleanings and equipment loan on site.

Even while we are beginning to tackle the daunting task of editing our WBF pictures to meet the photography contest deadline, we are making plans for next year and how to improve our skills before then. The excitement of the festival and fierce competition are easily contagious in this Austrian lakeside town.

http://www.bodypainting-festival.com