Gallery Visitors Bare All, View Nudes in the Nude

PITTSBURGH —  Life imitated art and then upped it one when naked viewers recently pranced into a Pittsburgh exhibit of nude sculptures and paintings and nearly stole the show.

Actually, naked viewing was the brainchild of gallery owner Steve Mendelson, 43, who has mastered the tricky art of selling paintings and avant-garde creations by keeping costs--and the clothing of his guests--to a bare minimum.

The words “clothing optional” were printed on the invitations for the opening of Mendelson’s “Erotica” show, which features nudes from 1895 to 1995 by various artists, including Pablo Picasso, Robert Mapplethorpe and Louise Bourgeois.

“Most of the time you can dress up for an art gallery opening. But, in this case, people obviously dressed way down,” said Mendelson with a grin.

Mendelson was surprised by the reaction his invitations elicited. “I must have had 25 to 30 phone calls a day for a week ahead of the show by people who were asking me if they could come without clothes,” he said.

What also struck him as odd was the fact that several people called and asked if there was an admission fee.

“They wanted to know how much it cost--as if it was a strip joint. This was strange, because an art gallery is free. People are supposed to come to buy paintings,” he said.

Although Mendelson throws opening receptions primarily to sell artwork, he is good-natured about the fact that most people come to socialize, flirt and get drunk, rather than actually look at the artwork.

“Sales weren’t great. More people came for the party of it,” he said. “But it was great that it was an out-of-control opening. It’s not something that happens too often in Pittsburgh.”