The Nudity Caveat

KATHLEEN M HOLLAND wrote

on 31 Jan 2010 2:28 PM

I have to say that it's rather saddening that there has to be a warning posted about this forum containing nudity. Why should that have to be done? Yes, I know.....some people calling themselves artists are mortally offended by depictions of the unclothed human form. I don't understand that. Unless one's mind is a denizen of the gutter, there's no reason to fear the undraped form in art, especially  when it has been executed tastefully and skillfully by those of us who recognize the beauty of the human body.  I carry a sketchbook and pencils with me all the time, and whenever I land in a place like my favorite coffee bar or gin mill, I tend to find an unobtrusive corner, quietly take out my paper and pencils and start doing gesture drawings and quick sketches of the other folks around me. If I happen to see someone of either gender who is especially pleasing or challenging to my eyes, I work at "reading" their physical being, and creating small, quick , simple and tasteful nudes that give me good practice in studying anatomy, gesture, angles, light and shadow, features, and so on. Nobody so far has been offended by me doing this, as I've explained to them that I do what I do not in order to sexualize them but to study and celebrate the loveliness of the human body. When I do these nudes, I always either hide or alter the face of the subject so that they need not fear my misusing their image in any way, and that if I do happen to use their body image later in a more detailed drawing or painting, they cannot be recognized for who they specifically are. The most precious things in my small studio are a scale model of Michaelangelo's great "David", a sculpted representation of the figure of Aphrodite adapted from the painting "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli., and a scale model of the "Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace" from the Louvre. The "David" and the "Aphrodite" are both totally unclothed, and the "Nike" is only partially draped. When I sit and gaze at them, or use them to draw from, the only thing I see is how utterly beautiful they are. I look upon them, as I do the people I draw and paint, with respect, and render my work in good taste. I have no patience with vulgarity, and wouldn't do vulgar, lewd, and/or exploitive  work  for any reason. If you're going to be a portrait and figure painter, you must have a healthy and respectful attitude toward nudity. Otherwise, you'll just get nowhere fast. Cannot those who fear or are offended by nudity in art try to seek out the honest reasons for such an attitude, and therefore try to leave it behind them? 

Robin11 wrote

on 31 Jan 2010 3:19 PM

Hi, Kathleen, and welcome to Artist Daily!

I think you have answered your own question in your last few sentences.  You have no patience for vulgarity, etc.  What you might consider vulgar...I might not.  And vice versa.  Where to draw a line?  I am pretty sure nobody here wants to be the judge and jury, and so the caveat makes clear exactly what may  appear here.  Not everyone will necessarily know that "figurative" would include nudity.

The caveat is a simple notification that anyone who's sensitivities are different from yours or mine that "viewer beware".  I frankly think it's pretty mild.  And if there are viewers who do not want to view art of naked bodies, who am I to say they should?  

If there's anyplace I truly believe that should be left to personal choice, it's art.  No "shoulds" one way or the other imposed by anyone else.

Margo5 wrote

on 1 Feb 2010 1:56 PM

Kathleen, no one is stopping you from viewing the figurative drawings and paintings. You mentioned:  "I have no patience with vulgarity, and wouldn't do vulgar, lewd, and/or exploitive  work  for any reason." How do you propose that this site judge which is which?

The only way this site has to deal with vulgar, lewd or exploitive work is to ask people to check the little box for nudity. Unless you or someone else start judging which paintings are only nude and which are vulgar, the nudity check-box seems to be the only way to deal with this.

StormShadow wrote

on 18 Dec 2010 9:03 PM

Kathleen - I don't blame you for wanting to draw the human form!  I love drawing nudes too.  Not as a sexual stand-point,  but an artistic one. Some people take the subject of nudes differently.  Some people will be offensive,  and others will think nothing of it.  You have to draw what you love.  Don't let what other people say affect you. 

I'm just starting out,  but I love studying on different books of human anatomy.  Personally, I think "The Birth of Venus"  (by Titian)  is a very good painting,  and is one of my favorites.  I do agree with you though.  Some people have told me that it's wrong to draw nudes.  I try to tell them that it is just from an artistic view and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  The main thing is that you don't worry bout what people think of your drawings.  If you love drawing them,  then you should do it!!!!!!

Elisha Dasenbrock wrote

on 27 Apr 2011 8:06 PM

Everyone does have their own opinion of what is vulgar and they shouldn't be forced to look at nudes unexpectedly. 

I don't understand how someone could do figure work though and not draw the nude body at least once or even study anatomy. It's like drawing a portrait and never studying the bone structure and muscles underneath the face. I'm sure people do it and perhaps do it well, but I don't understand it. For me I want to know as much about anatomy as I can to give the paintings an extra sense of reality, even if I don't paint them photo-realistically.  I want to know why the skin falls how it does. The same goes for clothes/fabric.

However, I definitely don't want to look at some of the things that people do. I don't mind giving people a heads up that my work is nude. It could be that some people are noobs to the whole art thing and aren't expecting it. 

weldoon wrote

on 28 Apr 2011 9:24 AM

I'm with Elisha, I am a retired physician now I do watercolor.  Would you really want me doing your surgery or delivering your baby if I had never seen a nude body.  Whoever wrote the objection needs to spend less time in being a prude and more time being real.  The human body is a beautify creation and should not be viewed as an object of shame. 

Wes McEldoon, MD