F.N.A.F. = Festival of Naked Forms - !extreme bareness!

Some people believe that performance art is a synonym for nudity. Our festival cleverly confirms this belief.

Festival of Naked Forms (FNAF) is a mono-thematic multi-genre festival with a predictable and yet inconceivable subject matter.

The title alone reveals the aim of the various events and perhaps liberates us from being overly fixated on the subject matter. We can overcome our shame at home and then experience the other meanings that nudity may have in different contexts and interpretations.

I began with an ambitious challenge: “Dear artists, please classify your naked art action as either ‘Day of Critical Nudity’ or ‘Day of Hedonic Nudity!’” This curatorial idea didn’t quite work out – the first day was empty, the second overflowing! Christ, I hope they didn’t take it personally! I really didn’t want them to think that THEIR nudity was critical... Basically, I and the “Sexist Pig” contest both identify with the critical approach, and so what I wanted to say and to hint at was that nudity reveals not just itself, but by taking off my clothes in a corner of the room, I can call attention to the wrongs happening in the opposite corner! It’s enough to get everyone to spontaneously turn away from my nudity.

So most artists declared their affinity to the hedonic aspects of nudity within the meaning of hedonism and pleasure, with a focus on the pleasures and delights of life while actively avoiding unpleasantness. This optimism makes me happy, although I know that in many cases it is mere hypocrisy and the artists in question will not be capable of maintaining this carnally elemental line, instead filling their works and presentations with original, intense, and sophisticated content.

The festival’s aim is to bring together as many live art actions or social events related to nudity as possible. This first year is a test, a survey aimed at both artists and audiences. The festival’s preparations alone have left us with many unrealized ideas and untapped artists and groups for next year. The festival hopes to differentiate itself from artistic performance festivals by trying to include non-artistic performers and apostles of various forms of nudity.

We do not want the festival to be seen as a mere spectacle. Audience participation is very important, both in the form of workshop attendance and through the openly accessible spatial events in Perla’s wonderful industrial environment, which will beautifully emphasize the naked bodies – critically as well as hedonically.

Lenka Klodová (for the entire team)

A summary of the various program points:

WORKSHOPS
Creative photography workshop – the female nude. With Vlastimil Kula
A great and artistically dirty industrial space, lots of rusting metal and dripping oil, the naked skin of one or two young women, beautiful lighting, and expert guidance by a master of erotic photography.
Vlastimil Kula is an erotic photographer through and through. Call him commercial, call him  a pornographer – it won’t faze him. He confidently creates his fascinating, primal, sensuous pictures, which are more appreciated abroad than at home.
www.kulaphotography.com
Workshop with Divý Tvor
Divý Tvor (“Wild Thing”) is a photographic, communicative and fabulatory studio: “We are / tireless / adventure // we are / experimental / masculine and / feminine // we are / news / seeks / memory // we are / monumental and / pocket-sized / mania // we are / polaroid / comets / of history // we are / matrimony / wellness / actuality // we are for / everyone / exceptional / daring / curious / mothers and / fathers / joy”
www.divytvor.cz
Nude drawing with a live model
Drawing a nude is a specific naked situation within the visual arts. It is a somewhat historical situation, but for non-professionals it can also possess highly inspirational potential. Participants will be able to experience this event from both perspectives: We offer the possibility of drawing in a classical professionally-led course, as well as the chance to become a nude model yourself and to take home your own nude portrait, executed in charcoal.

LECTURE
At Perla, to the Swines
An interactive lecture by Kristýna Pešáková from NESEHNUTÍ on the use of the naked body in sexist advertising and about the “Sexist Pig” contest.
www.prasatecko.cz, www.zenskaprava.cz
The Post-Perspective Human Body in a Post-Apocalyptic Era
A performative lecture, projected through the body of Dr. Peter Šagát, aka Susan, consultant and lecturer for fashion marketing, visual and art communication, and sustainability.
www.petersagat.sk

SPATIAL ENVIRONMENTS
The inspiring space of Perla has enabled the realization of experimental environments that are usually associated with diverse meanings of nudity. Over the course of the two-day festival, you can take advantage of:
Industrial Jacuzzi
An aromatic bath in a tub originally used for preparing the paper mulch.
Underground Darkroom
A space underneath the main hall, specially designed for unexpected encounters in the dark.
Safe Nudist Beach
A fenced-off area where you can safely soak in the sun on a small nudist beach.
Pier on the Vltava
For the duration of the festival, this brand new recreational structure on the riverfront will be nudist as well. Water temperature: 5 degrees Celsius.