June 13, 2009
First Friday: Ann Arbor Summer Festival 2009
The 26th season comes in like a leopard!
Usually I don’t post any Summer Festival images until the end, but yesterday I got to preview an attraction you won’t want to miss if you’re around this weekend: Body Masterpiece. Tonight and tomorrow from 5–8pm, Body Masterpiece will be performing extreme makeovers at Top of the Park. The word “extreme” describes not only the level of intense detail, but also the speed at which the artists work — each face is transformed in about 5 minutes.
Sunday night is billed as “Superhero Night,” and the Festival welcomes all to participate in the fantasy. Prizes will be given to the best costume just before the evening’s screening of Iron Man.
Having your face painted required pre-registration, and I heard that all the slots were filled shortly after the event was announced. But I can’t overstate how much fun it is to observe the artists in action — and I can’t possibly post enough photos!
Speaking of photos, check out my exhibit at the Power Center.
“Extreme” face painters from Body Masterpiece demonstrate their transformative powers on the corner of State and North University. I was totally enthralled watching these artists literally paint the town. Costuming to the Nth degree? Check! Seemingly infinite collection of tools and hues? Check!
Wonder Woman prepares Wonder Bunny for her evening shift of saving the world. Right behind them, Spiderman’s nemesis (the alien symbiote Venom) enjoys a shave and a haircut.
It’s a bat… It’s an alien spider symbiote… It’s Supermax!
Not everyone chose to be an animal or superhero. These boys love their Red Wings, and Body Masterpiece surely delivered.
A cuter tiger there never was. | Robert Marshall, who later led the procession to Ingalls Mall, gets a big eye installed in the back of his head. Better to see us all!
Venom and Wonder Bunny talk shop by the mirror. | Eyelashes that can stop a speeding locomotive.
NOMO on the scene with their brassy, percussive goodness — just before they ushered us all to the Ingalls Mall for the premiere evening at Top of the Park. This was the first time I’d heard NOMO, and I’ve definitely added them to the list of my favorite locally-based (but globe-trotting) bands.
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Comments
LOVED NOMO.
Funny thing in terms of Body Masterpiece – There was a little boy in the middle of the crowds, being comforted by his mom, and crying his eyes out. His face had been turned into a magnificent monster. His mom was explaining to her friend – he wanted to see himself in the mirror, and when he did he got scared. Apparently, he was too scared to wash it off, either.
Your photography is magnificent.
Ann Arbor is extremely lucky to have Myra recording the fantastic people and events that create its unique town atmosphere. My dad, who graduated from the UofM Medical School in 1922, LOVED Ann Arbor with an intense passion and would have LOVED seeing it through the eyes of Myra’s lens. We’re lucky we can.
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