Pixel People: Images Formed by Thousands of Humans

Dearest friends, Happy New Year and welcome to the 2016 edition of Yellowtrace. Hooray! Did you have a nice break? Did you have a break at all? Are you still on holidays? Either way, it’s time to wave goodbye to our 2015 archives (did you enjoy those?) and welcome the year with a post that celebrates human endeavour slightly differently to how we usually do it. I’m taking a slightly literal approach here, as these images put people at their centre, where each one is created by a large gathering of individuals forming a magnificent spectacle.

Why am I choosing to begin the year in such a non-Yellowtrace way? Well, what is the Yellowtrace way, anyway? An element of surprise has a lot to do with it, but what I’m hoping for this year is that we, fellow citizens of this planet, can come together for the greater good. This can be as small or as large as you and I can make it, in whatever capacity we are able to do so. To me, these images are a symbol of this idea. Above all, I think it’s important for us all to set intentions to be more compassionate, more aware of each another, and in doing so becoming individuals who genuinely contribute to the world in a positive way, no matter how large or small our actions may be. This is my wish for 2016, for you and for me, and the entire human race… Ok so that last bit was cheese, but this intro wasn’t meant to be that, nor was it meant to become some kind of soap box moment either. I guess I’m just hoping all the bad news from 2015 stays in the past, and the world can move forward to a better place.

Here’s to another brilliant year together.

Always,
Mama Yellowtrace x

‘Concurs de Castells’ aerial photographs by David Oliete // ‘Concurs de Castells’ is the most important human tower competition, hosted in the city of Tarragona in Spain every two years. In 2012, 32 teams participated from all around Catalonia with a live audience of more than 20,000 people, as documented by the Spanish photographer David Oliete. The rules of this sport are simple – the higher and the more difficult the tower is to build, the more points go to the team. Measuring between six and ten levels high, teams are typically formed between 100 and 500 men, women and children to create the largest structures possible. Wowzer.

TED X Human Arabesque // Dancers + camera + kaleidoscope = this infinitely gorgeous short video. It was made for TEDxSummit, an unprecedented gathering of TEDx organisers from around the world. The video celebrates “the power of x” to multiply great ideas. Learn more about TEDxSummit here.

The Opening Ceremony of the XXII summer Olympics in Moscow, 1980 // Vintage black & white photography gets me every time, especially when it depicts an intricate human formation resembling the Olympic torch from the 1980s USSR! If this is the sort of thing that also floats your boat, you might like to check out this post which has a plethora of amazing vintage images marking various significant moments in history. You’re welcome.

Related Post: Moments in History.

Symbolic Head Pose of “The Devil”, Saddle Horse Ridden By Maj. Frank G. Brewer, Remount Commander // 650 officers and enlisted men at Camp Cody, N.M. paying tribute to a horse. Horses were incredibly important to soldiers during WW1, which is when this image was taken. Photo by Mark Raen.

Mole and Thomas Political Portraits and Advertising Campaigns // Arthur Samuel Mole (1889, Essex, England –1983 Fort Lauderdale, Florida) a former commercial photographer was the driving force behind these extraordinary images of “living statues”. Each one of these compositions took a keen eye for perspective and a 25 metre tall viewing tower. The average photo required a week of preparation, followed by several hours on the day to actually position the formations. Mole used to stand on his viewing tower and shout into a megaphone or use a long pole with a white flag to arrange the tens of thousands of soldiers into position. That portrait of President Woodrow Wilson (top image) consists of 21,000 individuals alone. The mind boggles.

Pixel Portraits With Miniature People by Craig Alan // American artist Craig Alan recreates portraits of famous people with what at first appears to be aerial photography. Similar to pixels, the people seem to gather to form these uncanny images. However on closer inspection, you might notice that the tiny figures have actually been painted. (And if you can’t work this out for yourself, just trust me – that’s what’s happening here, k?) Alan stumbled upon this interesting technique after taking photos of the street from the 6th floor. The ant-sized people seemed to form pictures, inspiring him to create works of art using the same idea.

JR for New York City Ballet art series // For their second annual Art Series in 2014, New York City Ballet collaborated with the French artist JR. JR shared his Art Series installation — a massive trompe l’oeil rendering of an eye created with life-size photos of NYCB dancers on the floor of the Promenade and a large wheat-paste photo on the front windows of the David H Koch Theatre.

JR lines Paris Pantheon with portraits of people from around the world // Speaking of JR, he also completed an epic installation inside the Paris Patheon, covering the interior and exterior architectural elements during the building’s renovation. Commissioned by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, ‘Au Pantheon’ builds on the artist’s ongoing ‘Inside Out Project’. For this iteration, JR collected hundreds of portraits with his traveling photo booth truck. The amassed black & white images were used to create the mosaics visible throughout the building.

Everyday People by Spencer Tunick // Spencer Tunick stages scenes in which the battle of nature against culture is played out against various backdrops. Tunick has traveled the globe to create his still and video images of multiple nude figures in public settings. Organising groups from a handful to tens of thousands of participants – all volunteers, is often logistically daunting; the subsequent images transcend ordinary categories and meld sculpture and performance into a new genre.

Humour and humanity abound in Tunick’s images, which demonstrate subtle relationships between crowds of people. Tunick’s figures always appear distinctly alone despite their proximity to one another. In many ways, the nudity of these people creates an incredible sense of community by way of a bizarre shared experience, whilst at the same time subtly creating distance between the participants. It is debatable whether or not the artworks are controversial, but they certainly inspire discussion around the body, nudity and privacy, opening up the artistic understanding of the nude and offering an opportunity for celebration of the human form.

Since 1992, Tunick has been arrested five times while attempting to work outdoors in New York City. Soon after his fifth arrest in Times Square in 1999, determined to create his work on the streets of New York, the artist filed a Federal Civil Rights Law Suit against the city to protect himself and his participants from future arrests. In May 2000, the Second U.S. District Court sided with Tunick, recognising that his work was protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. On June 3 of the same year, in response to the city’s final appeal made to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the court at large, the U.S. Supreme Court also ruled in favour of Tunick by remanding the case, allowing the lower court decision to stand and the artist to freely organise his work on New York City streets. Four months later, Tunick applied for his first New York City permit after winning the case, and was denied.

In order to make his work without the threat of arrest the artist took his work abroad. He has not undertaken a group installation on the streets of New York in over ten years.

Art Photography by Evelyn Bencicova // Natalia Evelyn Bencicova is a 23 year old visual creative whose somber hued images of (mostly) faceless people arranged in immaculate compositions range from purely sculptural to darkly dramatic.
Bencicova grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia, and is currently studying fine arts in Vienna, basing herself between Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava & London. In her work, Bencicova pursues that illusive sweet-spot where the commercial demands and the artistic vision meet, focusing on the conceptual as well as the visual aspects of photography. For this young photographer, the combination of academic knowledge, interesting aesthetic, strong messaging and active communication with her audience are the hallmark of her work.

‘Girls in the Windows’ by Ormond Gigli // This iconic photo by Ormond Gigli from the 1960s was taken while a construction crew dismantled a row of brownstones right across from the photographer’s own brownstone studio. Below are some words by Gigli about the making of this famous image.

“In 1960, while a construction crew dismantled a row of brownstones right across from my own brownstone studio on East 58th Street, I was inspired to, somehow immortalise those buildings. I had the vision of 43 women in formal dress adorning the windows of the skeletal facade.

We had to work quickly to secure City permissions, arrange for models which included celebrities, the demolition supervisor’s wife (third floor, third from left), my own wife (second floor, far right), and also secure the Rolls Royce to be parked on the sidewalk. Careful planning was a necessity as the photography had to be accomplished during the workers’ lunch time! The day before the buildings were razed, the 43 women appeared in their finest attire, went into the buildings, climbed the old stairs, and took their places in the windows. I was set up on my fire escape across the street, directing the scene, with bullhorn in hand. Of course I was concerned for the models’ safety, as some were daring enough to pose out on the crumbling sills.

The photography came off as planned. What had seemed to some as too dangerous or difficult to accomplish, became my fantasy fulfilled, and my most memorable self – assigned photograph. It has been an international award winner ever since. Most professional photographers dream of having one signature picture they are known for. “GIRLS IN THE WINDOWS ” is mine.”

[Photography credits as noted.]