A fleet of Santas march through Manhattan for America’s 110th Annual Sidewalk Santa Parade, animal rights activist in Vienna simulate medical tests, a naked man brings central London traffic to a standstill by climbing to the top of the statue of Prince George outside the Ministry of Defence and more in today’s daily brief.
A 6-5 vote by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has brought a ban on public nudity (except at permitted festivals and parades) one step closer to becoming city ordinance.
The proposed ban — not spawned by straight couples with children or angry Castro District business owners exposed daily to a hoard of “Naked Guys” — was introduced by counsel-person Scott Wiener who says “the dominant demographic expressing concern is gay men,” reported the Los Angles Times. Wiener hopes to expand on a prior clothing-not-optional ordinance for restaurants and other areas of public seating, the Times also noted.
Dissenters on the board showed frustration at taking time away from more important public matters, like violent crime. The ban now needs a final vote and the mayor’s signature to become law.
NOTE: Some images have been cropped and/or pixelated.
Days before its exhibition debut, the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria covered up controversial posters that showcased soccer players exposing their more intimate parts after receiving numerous complaints from the public. The visual advertisements — along with a 13-foot full-frontal photo sculpture of a reclining naked man called Mr. Big — were part of a provocative campaign to tease the launch of the museum’s “Nackte Manner” (Naked Men) exhibition.
“Previous exhibitions on the theme of nudity have mostly been limited to female nudes,” according to the Leopold Museum on its site. “Spanning two centuries, the presentation will show different artistic approaches to the subject, competing ideas of the ideal male model as well as changes in the concept of beauty, body image and values.”
The exhibition, which features some 300 works showing diverse and changing depictions of naked men from 1800 to the present day, runs until January 28, 2013.
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