#WeTheNipple Campaign to Get Big Boost From Artist Spencer Tunick

NEW YORK CITY—In case no one's noticed, the American public has gotten a bit more liberal in what it thinks of public nudity, even though plenty of municipalities still have laws against it. Fortunately, New York City isn't one of them, and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has teamed up with celebrated photographic artist Spencer Tunick for a nude installation in lower Manhattan to challenge the censorship of artistic nudity on Facebook and Instagram. The campaign even has its own hashtag: #WeTheNipple. "The human body has always been a central subject of art," notes NCAC's WeTheNipple page. "Its representations have evolved with technologies of expression: from cave drawings, to sculpture and painting, to photography and video. Yet leading 21st century social media platform, Instagram, the most popular platform for artists who share their work online, and its parent company, Facebook, both ban photographic representations of the nude body, while making an exception for artistic nudity in sculpture and painting... "The nudity ban prevents many artists from sharing their work online," the site continues. "It particularly harms artists whose work focuses on their own bodies, including queer and gender-nonconforming artists, and the bodies of those in their communities. Museums and galleries are constrained when even promoting exhibitions featuring nudes. To raise awareness about the range of art censored by Facebook and Instagram, artist-photographer Spencer Tunick will create a public art action this June. Hundreds of nude bodies will take a stance in the streets of New York City against social media censorship of art." The "public art action" will take place on Sunday, June 2, in the very early morning hours, somewhere in downtown Manhattan. The exact location will be revealed to those who sign up to participate. The website warns, "The entire art event will not extend beyond mid-morning. You will only be nude for a short period of time. Space is limited for this artwork so register sooner rather than later. If you are not chosen to be in this particular work, don't let it deter you from signing up for future artworks by Spencer where there are no space limitations." Those who do participate will receive a limited edition print from the installation. The event is supported by, among others, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several museums nationwide. To register for the NCAC/Tunick event, click here.