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| Rebecca Romjin and Rupaul |
More Than Skin Deep:
Reasons to Watch Skin Wars
Beauty may be said to be only skin deep, but not when it comes to Skin Wars. Skin Wars is a competitive TV show that came out in 2014, and is becoming increasingly popular. This show takes place in Hollywood and brings together ten artists to compete for a grand prize of a trip to the Worlds Body Painting Festival, 100,000$ and an impressive amount of body paint to help them jump start their career as a body painter. Competitors also get to meet their idols like Rupaul, Craig Tracy, and Robin Barcus Slonina; all accomplished artists. The show is also hosted by Rebecca Romijn, who played as Mystique in Xmen and is an experienced body paint model. Each episode contestants compete to be the most original and have the most well put together body piece; and the least impressive contestant is voted off the show and will be asked to "wash off their canvas". Although not everything about this show is just skin deep, there is a more than meets the eye.
There are many reason to watch this show for other than just entertainment, Skin Wars embraces body positivity. Unlike many other artists around the world Skin Wars uses a different kind of canvas, the human body. Unlike paper, walls or canvas; these artists embrace the human body in all its shapes and sizes. "'A canvas is flat, and a body has a soul and personality. A body has different shapes that I can play with and that I can move around, it has shadows and highlights to give an illusion that there's something there" (Becknell). Although its not the first thing that someone thinks to paint, it really makes a great canvas, it moves, it breaths and its alive. How many other pieces of art can say that? The models they use aren't necessarily one size, they have all different portions and builds, but these artists still turn every one of them into their own piece of art that. These specific artist have an application of the name human body like no other, they look at someone and see all the beautiful possibilities that one human body can have. Also, viewers watch this and can also learn to appreciate how beautiful any body can be. Skin Wars brings the inner beauty of the artist imagination and puts it right on the skin.
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| First season contestant is given pointers by judge |
Another reason to watch Skin Wars is the unique form of art that it offers the viewer. Going hand and hand with the previous paragraph, this isn't the same kind of art that is put on paper and will stay on paper this is literally living art. This specific type of art is short lived and can only be fully appreciated for such a short time, before it is washed away. Rebecca Romijn is very familiar with this unusual type of artistry, she was the first model to be body painted on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was painted blue for her major role as Mystique. She believes that the art is no different than any other, although it is unorthodox, it is still a pure form of art, "It’s a fine art show. The level of art is second to none. These painters are so talented, people are going to be blown away” (Gibbons). It truly is remarkable what these painters can do with just an airbrush and some glitter. For example, Rebecca goes on TV with James Corden and they have people hide around the studio and see if they could find all the people painted to blend with the background. These people are painted incredibly well and almost seamlessly blend into the environment. Skin Wars gives a whole different perspective like no other on painting and art, it makes the audience think outside of the box and gain a different perspective while seeing what these great artist can formulate. Seeing others great masterpieces can also inspire young artist to follow the same path.
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| Model hides in the studio |
One more reason to watch the show is, aspiring artist can view the show and see others like them rise to fame. It is every aspiring artist dream to win and get the supplies to be able to get on their feet and meet some of the most famous body painters from around the world. They don't have to be experts, some do body painting on the side while other try to make it their full-time profession. None of them have made it to the big leagues yet making them still amateurs. June Deery discusses this approach in her book, Reality Status. By making the artist "amateurs" it makes the audience feel like what is happening on the screen more believable. It also makes the goal of being in the contestant's shoes more attainable. These artist can also judge their abilities by what the judges say.
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| Fox face made out of five people |
The judges are the best at what they do, they have made a profession out of body painting and body art and have become famous. These include but are not limited to Rupaul, Craig Tracy, and Robin Barcus Slanina, these judges know what to look for and what makes "quality work". They give the contestants their opinions on their art. It is interesting to see the different outlooks on a piece of art by the judges and how they would change it or what they love about it. The audience can judge the work like a professional would and predict the outcome of the competition based on what the judges say. It teaches the audience what to expect and what to look for from the artist.
Skin Wars take the meaning of "beauty is only skin deep" to a whole new level. Although Skin Wars main goal is to entertain audiences with some unusual painting techniques done by people from all around the world, that's not the only purpose it serves. It shows diversity, different ways to create art and can inspire an aspiring artist to try and make their dreams possible cause everyone has to start from square one.
Citations:
Deery, June. Reality TV. Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2015.
Gibbons, Kent. "Lure Of Body Painting Draws Romijn To GSN's 'Skin Wars'." Multichannel News 35.12 (2014): 34. Business Source Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2017.
Becknell, Jennifer. "Rock Hill native, body painter to compete on 'Skin Wars' TV show." Herald, The (Rock Hill, SC) 19 Apr. 2016: Points of View Reference Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2017.
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