It’s a sight to be long remembered: six hundred pink, brown and naked bodies gathered on the freezing slopes of Valais’s majestic Aletsch glacier. The volunteers, young and old, came to pose in the snow without clothes on the weekend for American photographer Spencer Tunick. The artist, who kept his clothes on himself, choreographed the affair as part of a commission for Greenpeace to highlight the impact of climate change.
In remarks to his nude subjects, Tunick noted that the glacier they were standing on would not be there in 80 years if humans continue their current activities. Scientists believe the production of greenhouse gases from sources such as the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to the warming of the planet, resulting in shrinking glaciers, among other impacts. Greenpeace is planning to use Tunick’s photographs for a campaign on the “naked truth” about climate change.
For most of the volunteers, taking part in the photo involved a long day’s travel to Valais followed by chairlift rides and a two-hour’s hike to the glacier. “I like to hike, I find the cause serious and plus I like to exhibit myself,” said André, a semi-retired mechanic, explaining why he participated. But not everyone was happy with the sudden appearance of hundreds of unclad people on the glacier. A German tourist unaware of the proceedings was outraged when he found himself trapped by hundreds of unclothed people. He bounded from rock to rock to escape, according to one report. The photographs were the latest in a series taken by Tunick “strictly for artistic purposes” in locations around the world, including several in Switzerland.
http://www.tdg.ch/pages/home/tribune_de_geneve/english_corner/news/news_detail/(contenu)/121041
(Sorry, I'm still not an expert at creating links, if you wanna see what these other peeps had to say, you'll have to copy and paste ):
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/naked-glacier-tunick-08182007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070818/wl_nm/switzerland_tunick_dc_1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6952930.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/08/18/vo.naked.glacier.protest.ap
