Liu Bolin timelapse at TED2013 from TED Blog on Vimeo
THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE - COFL from Community of Lights on Vimeo.
Born in Shandong, China in 1973, Liu Bolin is a Chinese artist known for taking photographs of himself, painted in order to blend in with the background.He graduated from the Sculpture Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Liu belongs to the generation that came of age in the early 1990s, when China emerged from the rubble of the Cultural Revolution and was beginning to enjoy rapid economic growth and relative political stability.
Since his first solo shows in Beijing in 1998, Liu Bolin's work has received international recognition. Among other international venues, his distinctive photographs and sculptures have been shown at the major contemporary photography festival Les Recontres d'Arles and he had solo shows at Dashanzi Art Zone in Beijing (2007), Galerie Bertin-Toublanc in Paris (2007), Eli Klein Fine Art in New York (2008), Boxart Gallery in Verona (2008), Forma Foundation for Photography in Milan (2010).
As you can see, Liu Bolin has perfected the art of paint camuflage by carefully and meticuosly staging and preparing each scene to be captured flawlessly with his body blending in the photograph. Many would think that his art is a result of photoshop even though it is being created as real images snapshots.
The photo gallery below includes some of his work on the "Hiding in the City" series. Lui, also known as the Chinese Chameleon, spends about 10 hours being painted for each work so he perfectly matches the background.
Bolin was recently in New York City to create the latest installment of his project 'Hiding in the City,' which previously included Beijing and Venice.
You can see him above at Wall Street and the famous Bull sculpture which highlights his most recent work using New York City sourrounding in the "Art of Camouflage"
Making of video of the Louvre project by artists Liu Bolin and JR. Production : Magda Danysz Gallery - Director : Magalie Moreau - Music : "A Journey" Barry Gledden
Moncler presents the brand’s Spring / Summer 2017 advertising campaign, shot by renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz, with a form of communication which has again proven entirely unexpected and innovative. Following the fairy-tale atmosphere and literary vision of previous Moncler campaigns, the Spring/Summer 2017 imagery plays out along a surreal imaginary thread. Images are transformed into a chameleon-like camouflage which eliminates any certainty of reality. The protagonist is Chinese artist Liu Bolin, master of the impossible and the invisible, renowned for his allusive art in which only the silhouette of his body is visible against backdrops.
THE MAKING OFF CAMOUFLAGE
Liu Bolin waits for the finishing touches to his camouflage, before being completely blended into the background, in front of a shelf lined with comic books, as part of a series of performances known as "the invisible man" for using painted-on camouflage to blend into the backdrops of his photographs. his work includes series titled "Hiding in the City" and "The Invisible Man."
A photo series shows stages of Chinese artist Liu Bolin being painted during a happening at the Grand Palais in Paris, on April 1, 2011. Bolin, from Shandong, China, manages to camouflage himself in any surroundings, standing silently in front of his chosen scene in locations all around the world, the 37-year-old artist uses himself as a blank canvas.
Liu Bolin at the Grand Palais in Paris on April 1, 2011
Liu Bolin is Painted by Guillaume at the Grand Palais in Paris
Liu Bolin Stands Before a Staircase at the end of a Happening at the Grand Palais in Paris, on April 1, 2011
Liu Bolin waits for his colleagues to put a finishing touch on him to blend into rows of soft drinks in his artwork entitled "Plasticizer," to express his speechlessness at use of plasticizer in food additives, in his studio at the 798 Art District in Beijing, China, on August 10, 2011.
Liu Bolin is painted with the help of his colleagues to blend into rows of soft drinks in his artwork entitled "Plasticizer," on August 10, 2011.
Final changes are made to Liu Bolin's "Plasticizer" work in Beijing, on August 10, 2011.
A participant is painted to make her look exactly the same as the seats of a theatre, during Liu Bolin's new project, in Beijing, on September 12, 2013. The work, called "Red Theatre", is one of more than 100 "invisible works" Liu has completed since 2005.
A participant waits for the finishing touches to her makeup, as part of Liu Bolin's "Red Theatre", in Beijing, on September 12, 2013.
Artist Liu Bolin is painted by an assistant for "Red Theatre", on September 12, 2013.
Liu Bolin and his Assistant Inspect a Picture in a Lap Top on Red Theater
Chinese artist Liu Bolin is painted by students of the Stuttgart art academy in front of a wall with different magazines in the Kunstverein (art association) in Ludwigsburg, Germany, on May 15, 2013.
Liu smiles as he readies himself to blend in with rows of vegetables displayed on the shelves at a supermarket in Beijing, on November 10, 2011.
An assistant shows a photo on a mobile phone to artist Liu Bolin as Liu demonstrates an art installation at a supermarket in Beijing, on November 10, 2011.
Liu Stands Before Rows of Vegetables Displayed on Shelves at a Supermarket in Beijing, on November 10, 2011
People watch as Liu is prepared to be blended completely into the background in front of a shelf lined with comic books, as part of a series of performances in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 2, 2013.
Liu's Shoes Before He Wears Them to Blend Himself Into a Shelf
Lined with Comic Books
Chinese artist Liu Bolin blends himself into a shelf lined with comic books as part of a series of performances in Caracas, on November 2, 2013
New York artist Trina Merry is best known for her unique style that blends body art with photography. By matching the painted body to and incorporating it into a physical landscape, she blurs the line of reality for both the viewer and the subject.
Merry had her subject, UK model Kyle James, pose fully painted in front of Modern Wonders of the World. This “guerrilla-style” approach is common to much of her work, which has been featured in numerous publications, including Time,The New York Times, and Forbes, among many more.
Camouflaged - Chichen Itza, Mexico
About this series: In this series, “Lost in Wonder”, Merry travelled to the Modern Wonders of the World. Surrounded by the aged at the end of their lives climbing stairs with modified ski poles and honeymooners breezing past sites holding selfie sticks, Merry examines Western tourisms impact on memory making, bucketlist dreams, and decaying architecture.
Camouflaged - Colosseum Rome, Italy
Merry included “wonder” as a part of her process to create these works. She and her model traveled to each site and took a historical tour of the site, often with a private guide. Merry then returned tothe site to sit and observe the architecture, decay, energy of the people and effects of tourism on the sites. Finally Merry returned with her subject to create the work over a period of 1-3 hours onsite,creating and giving energy to the site.
Camouflaged - The Great Wall of China
“Many photographers say they ‘take’ a picture. At major tourist sites like these, there are masses of visual consumers ‘taking’ from this environment without really appreciating the space or the history and culture of the people who made these structures. Artists are culture makers so I couldn’t approach this trip the same way- we “made” a picture and gave energy back to these places.”
Camouflaged - Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
"I really wanted to understand what makes a place ‘great’. Why do these physical structures go down in history? I was amazed that, due to the nature of contemporary tourism, so many people idealize these places but they leave with some selfies, a branded trinket and a bit of disappointment. They looked... lost."
Camouflaged - Stonehedge, UK
"Im profoundly interested in the culture of the selfie. Why are people traveling to these sites for only a brief moment to take a picture and brag to their friends? It completely isolates the architecturalstructure from its original meaning, intent and use. I am highly interested in our methods of memory-making and the ways these are digitalized globally."
Camouflaged - Petra, Jordan
"I wanted to examine, what does it look like when we strip down our dreams and confront ourselveswith the reality of these ‘wonders’ of the world.”
Camouflaged- Ahu Akivi Easter Island, Chile
Camouflaged - Ahu Tongariki, Chile
