The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Photograph taken looking down over of a road covered in hundreds of nude bodies with skin tones ranging from light to medium, laying horizontally across the pavement with their backs facing the viewer. Grey sidewalks are empty on either side and are flanked by boats docked to port. Cleveland's cityscape with high rises of different heights rises from the horizon.

Ohio 1 (Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland)

2004

Spencer Tunick

(American, b. 1967)
America
chromogenic process color print
Overall: 180.3 x 228.5 cm (71 x 89 15/16 in.)
Gift of Timothy and Nancy Callahan, Stewart and Donna Kohl and Mark Schwart and Bettina Katz 2004.69
Location: Not on view

Description

Since the early 1990s, Tunick has organized more than 75 temporary installations in public spaces worldwide. He deftly positions dozens, hundreds, or thousands of nude volunteers to define and expand his chosen locations, and then takes photographs. In Cleveland on June 26, 2004, Tunick created his largest North American installation to date. As part of an exhibition of his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Tunick positioned more than 2,700 people along East 9th Street. The figures rhythmically define this urban space while adding a sense of humanity. The project was a compelling union of sculpture, performance, and public art beautifully captured in this striking color image. The elongated, abstract mass of flesh challenges one’s notion of nudity and privacy. Gift of Timothy and Nancy Callahan, Stewart and Donna Kohl, and Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz 2004.69
  • Portraiture: American Photography 1960 to the Present. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 1-September 13, 2009).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (06/01/2009 - 09/13/2009); "Portraiture: American Photography 1960 to the Present"
  • {{cite web|title=Ohio 1 (Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland)|url=false|author=Spencer Tunick|year=2004|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.69