Body painting is a provocative form of art that dates back to prehistoric times. By using the human body as a canvas, artists can express themselves in innovative ways. (And save a lot of money on paper.) Sometimes the effect is theatrical, painting models with dazzling colors in hypnotic patterns. And sometimes the effect is like an optical illusion, trying to trick your brain into thinking the paint is not really paint.
Jen The Body Painter is a professional artist who frequently paints models wearing clothes. At first glance, it looks like someone wearing a casual outfit. Then you do a double take and realize that's not clothing - that's paint. But how convincing is the paint job? Could you trick people in real life? And if not, how will they react to seeing someone almost totally naked?
For her latest project, Jen decided to do a social experiment. She painted a nice fall outfit on a model - ripped blue jeans and a long sleeve black top. The application took three hours. Other than that, the model is only wearing a hat, scarf, pasties and a thong. So, she's basically as close to naked as you can get without being arrested. Then they went to the mall to see how people would react, and if they could fool people in clothing stores.
They captured the experiment on video, and it went viral, getting over twelve million views on YouTube. It's titled "NAKED GIRL Walks Around Mall | Does She Get Kicked Out?!" Spoiler alert: She does not get kicked out, but they do get a lot of entertaining reactions from shoppers as they slowly realize she's wearing paint. Some of them crack up laughing, while others just stare suspiciously, knowing something isn't quite right.
In the seven minute video, they visit a bunch of stores, and make a lot of bored employees days more interesting. At a lingerie store, the ladies love her body paint so much they start dancing. At a clothing store, the "Naked Girl" asks for a pair of jeans as thin as the "jeans" she's wearing. "Are those real pants?" the confused worker asks. Another female clerk offers her a pair of jeans to try on, but the model balks, explaining that she's wearing paint, which would ruin the pants. The clerk explains that she could tell it was paint "because of the butt. Can't hide that."
So, it appears that body paint clothing can fool people, but only briefly, or until they get too close. Surprisingly, nobody was offended by the presence of a nearly naked lady at the mall. Everybody was delighted, or just a little freaked out. In the YouTube comments, someone joked, "Let's see how well this goes for a guy Would probably be banned from the mall for life." Well, there's only one way to find out. Your move, Jen The Body Painter.
