Disappearing Model is a trompe-l'œil body painting

Body painting

Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...

 by Joanne Gair

Joanne Gair

Joanne "Kiwi Jo" or "Kiwi Joe" Gair is a New Zealand-born and raised make-up artist and body painter whose body paintings have been featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue from 1999 to the 2011 edition...

 that was part of episode 1.19 or 119 of Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...

, which was the highest rated episode. The number 119 represents the nineteenth episode of the first season of the show, which aired exclusively on the TBS superstation.

General episode details

The episode was hosted by Dean Cain

Dean Cain

Dean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...

, and it originally aired on either August 30 or September 6, 2000, depending upon the source. Both TV.com

TV.com

TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...

 and IMDb.com claim the episode aired on the August date. TBS and Business Wire

Business Wire

Business Wire is a company that disseminates full-text news releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases and other audiences. The company distributes news via its own patented...

sources dated August 31, 2000 announce its premiere

Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...

 on the September date. Sony Pictures claims the episode aired on November 15, 2000, but does not clarify whether this was the premiere airing or a rerun

Rerun

A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...

. The episode had a total of six features.

Gair's role on the episode

Descriptions of the episode describe Gair's notability for her ability to "...make people disappear by painting them right into a background or paint clothing on a human body that is virtually undistinguishable from actual fabric!" More detailed descriptions of the episode describe the origin of Gair's notability as deriving from her production of the Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair (magazine)

Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...

magazine cover entitled Demi's Birthday Suit

Demi's Birthday Suit

Demi‘s Birthday Suit, or The Suit, was a trompe-l'œil body painting by Joanne Gair photographed by Annie Leibovitz that was featured on the cover of the Vanity Fair August 1992 issue to commemorate and exploit the success of Leibovitz's More Demi Moore cover photo of Demi Moore one year earlier...

, also known as "The Suit" in 1992.

During the episode, Gair exhibits body painting that appears to be no-fabric clothing and creates another work that causes the illusion

Illusion

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....

 that a model disappears into the background of a flower print. The 2000 body painting in which the model is indistinguishable from the red, blue and yellow flowers is known as Disappearing Model and is considered to be Gair's most famous work.

Gair's second book, Body Painting: Masterpieces by Joanne Gair, includes a photo of Disappearing Model. The section credits Tracy Bayne as the photographer of the Russian model Sasha. Gair notes that the show's producer, Gail Smerigan contacted her in 2000 about featuring her work in an episode. The intent was to capture a photo shoot

Photo shoot

A photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief...

 specifically designed for the show with the intent of creating the illusion of causing the model to disappear.

See also

• Sara Watson
  Sara Watson
  Sara Watson is a British artist famous for her illusory, trompe-l'œil art. In May 2009, she attracted international attention when she painted a car in such a way as to "merge" it with its surroundings, thus making it "invisible"....
  
  , a British artist who attracted attention by making a car "invisible" through painting it into its background