About 130 students in an introductory 3D design course at the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design will wrap their bodies -- or a friend's body -- in tape for their final class project. When they cut off the tape, the resulting castings will be their body of art.

The students will display all 130 taped castings in a temporary installation before making stop-motion films of the taped figures.

This sticky undertaking will teach the students how to tackle a large-scale project using "a playful, contemporary material," said James Thurman, the assistant professor of art overseeing the project.

"As long as humans have been making art, they have been dealing with the human as subject," Thurman said. "With tape, the students can learn to form a body relatively easily, and it's relatively affordable."

Why get wrapped up in tape?

"Most of the projects in class so far have been on a manageable scale about the size of a beach ball," Thurman said. In one of those projects, students took apart a stuffed animal and put it back together in an abstract form. "Taping a human body has challenges in getting larger in scale. Plus, this gets them thinking about basic postures and how that conveys basic ideas – like Rodin's The Thinker. There was a lot of planning and careful consideration that went into that exact posture."

After the public display of the taped castings, students will have a couple of weeks to make stop-motion films with their castings. The films will be screened during class in December.

MEDIA: Get photos/video of students creating taped castings at the following times in room 319 of the UNT Art Building, one block west of Mulberry and Welch streets. Each class lasts about two and a half hours and has about 15 to 20 students.

Nov. 18 (Wednesday):

8 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
4 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.

Nov. 19 (Thursday):

8 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
4 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.

Nov. 23 (Monday):

8 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
4 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.

Nov. 24 (Tuesday):

8 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
4 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.

When and where can you see the bodies on display?

See an army of 130 human-sized taped castings on display from 2 to 3 p.m. Nov. 25 (Wednesday) on Level 1 of the University Union, one block west of Welch and West Prairie streets. The general public is welcome.

"Bringing all of the figures together as a temporary public art installation helps the students realize the larger context of their work in society and how their work can impact others, even in the most temporary or playful manner," Thurman said.

UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Ellen Rossetti (940) 369-7912
Email: erossetti@unt.edu

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