It’s just your average August night on the UW-Madison campus. The sky is dark and there isn’t a soul in sight as Genia and her neighbor arrive at Science Hall. The unflinching stare of Bucky Badger greets them. To be precise, it’s Visible Bucky — one of 85 life-size Bucky Badger statues scattered across Madison as part of a public art project organized by the Madison Area Sports Commission this summer.
There’s an energy in the air that comes only in those special moments when a public place is deserted. Genia’s neighbor — we’ll call her Z — slips on sunglasses and pulls a red bandana over her face. Genia surveys the area one last time to make sure there aren’t any passersby. The coast is clear.
Z slips off her dress and strikes a pose next to Bucky. The only thing between her and the beloved UW mascot is a warm breeze. Genia works quickly to frame her subjects as she photographs the pair.
“It’s definitely a thrill,” says Genia, the artist behind the Buck_Naked_on_Parade Instagram account. “It’s part of the art to have to be covert. Hide identities. Be on the lookout for cops. I can’t deny it’s exciting.”
The guerrilla art project lives up to its title. Genia — who isn’t giving her last name to further intrigue — is on a mission to capture photos of models in the buff next to the Bucky on Parade statues. She photographed a half-dozen statues before most of the Buckys were taken off public display on Sept. 12. And she hopes to find some of the Buckys at their new locations.
So far, she’s posted three tableaux on Instagram. In addition to Z posing naked next to Visible Bucky, a man Genia met at a bar posed naked in front of Goodnight Bucky, which had been located at Picnic Point.
The most recent post on Buck_Naked_on_Parade is with Retro Bucky, which used to be by the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Genia says the model — known as X — got impatient waiting for people to leave the area. X ended up disrobing in front of a young couple 25 feet away.
“We waited for a bit,” reads the caption on the Instagram post. “[The couple] didn’t seem to care.”
Genia got the idea to put nude models next to the Buckys after she kept seeing photos of (clothed) people next to the six-foot tall statues.
“Initially, I thought it was a funny juxtaposition. You don’t see naked people next to Bucky Badger, ” Genia says. “Deeper than that it’s about turning the whole project on its head. Art should challenge people so it drives progress. This seemed like a fun, light-hearted way to point that out.”
Buck_Naked_on_Parade arrived on Instagram on Sept. 29. Followers have been steadily increasing ever since and Genia has a half dozen photos in the can waiting to be published.
“I love guerrilla art in general. It’s something I’m pretty passionate about and I love that kind of DIY aesthetic. I like the idea of doing something with the environment you are given and confronting it in an unexpected way,” Genia says. “At all steps, I made sure the models were comfortable about the photo being used and if they ever want to take it down, I will.”
While she appreciates the spirit of Bucky on Parade and is glad local artists got paid to participate in the public art project, Genia was irked by how “safe and sanitized” it felt.
“It seems like it was for kids or something. It just felt shallow to me,” Genia says. “Art should challenge people so it drives progress.”
There’s a “sticking it to the man” element to Buck_Naked_on_Parade. But Genia says it’s also about defying conventions on nudity.
“I think society would treat women a lot better if nudity didn’t carry a stigma. That’s just what we’ve been normalized to think,” Genia days. “Nudity doesn’t need to be sexualized. Sad that’s sometimes the only context in which it’s viewed. So, yes, this project is a response to that.”
The Buck_Naked_on_Parade project has hit a few snags.
“I had big expectations that everyone I asked to model was going to do it because the idea is so awesome,” Genia says. “But it was hard to find people who wanted to do it. A lot of people thought it was a great idea and were very supportive. They just didn’t feel comfortable being naked in public. Which I get.”
Genia’s next challenge: tracking down the Buckys that are now in private hands and recruiting more volunteers.
“I think I need to reach a wider audience of people who would actually feel comfortable getting naked next to Bucky,” Genia says. “If I had 40 to 50 people doing it. I could do a show.”
Go Badgers.
