Performers - Part 47

Zagreb, I Love You

In 1981, in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, performance artist Tomislav Gotovac went from Ilica Street to the central city square, naked ...

walking ...

running ...

and kissing the asphalt.  He called his performance "Zagreb, I Love You."

People were shocked, but also touched by his love for the city, and his performance became part of the city's cultural heritage.  Gotovac died in 2010, but in his memory, his footprints have been etched into the street pavement where he did his naked walk.

Yugoslavia no longer exists.  Zagreb is now the capital of Croatia.  In 2014, in honor of Gotovac and his naked walk, the city held a festival called "Zagreb I Love You" in the central city square.

Three performers from Switzerland decided to do their own naked walk to honor Gotovac.  They stripped (above) ...

and then proceeded to walk very slowly down the street toward the square.  They called their performance "Naked Slow Walking."

The three performers are (from the left) Thomas Zollinger, Glynis Ackermann, and Elias Kirsche.

They continued walking,  ever so slowly.

Here's a closeup of Elias Kirsche.

When they reached the square, Kirsche and Ackermann lay down.  Some policemen came over to investigate.

The three performers were charged with disturbing the peace.

Then they were made to get dressed and they were taken away.  They were fined, but luckily their fine was paid by the organizers of the "Zagreb, I Love You" festival.

Here are some video clips from a longer video documenting their performance.  First, we see how slowly they walk for their "Naked Slow Walking" performance.

Then we see Kirsche and Ackermann splitting off and walking away from Zollinger toward the square.

Finally, we see Kirsche and Ackermann lying in the square, Zollinger rejoining them, and them all being confronted by the police.

It's rather ironic that these performance artists were arrested for doing a naked walk at the "Zagreb, I Love You" festival whose whole point was to commemorate Tomislav Gotovac's naked walk.