05
Dec
2011
The naked human form is something many artists and photographers are familiar with, and have been for centuries. It is also something that the more conservative have condemned for centuries, labelling it as "distasteful", "shameful", "inappropriate" or even "obscene". I often find myself wondering where and how these feelings originated, but, although I have my theories, I think the origins are best left for those who study these kinds of topics. I think the more important question is, what place does nudity, or specifically nude art have in today's society?
These days we rarely see nudity except in advertising, where the models are made-up, composed, styled, arranged and then airbrushed to achieve a symbol of beauty, perfection and sexuality, they ooze sex appeal. It's an an advertisers trick, sex sells. The other place we see nudity is in pornography, where it IS, blatantly, all about sex. Personally I have no issue with either of these things, they each have their place and purpose, and beauty and sexuality are part of what the human body is about. The trouble is, with these messages being the ONLY ones we are subjected to on a daily basis, many people are forgetting that that's not ALL the human body is about, there is much, much more to it than that.
We, and our children, and growing up in a world where we are being told, on the one side, that the human body is this perfect, sexual object - or should be - with impossible standards of beauty and perfection being set that no one can achieve. And on the other hand we are told that our naked bodies are shameful, distasteful, obscene, and should be covered at all times. With no happy medium, no healthy and realistic message being delivered to the masses, is it any wonder so many people in today's society have body issues? Instances of body dysmorphic syndromes (such as anorexia and bulimia) are high and becoming more prolific. We are told to "love ourselves for who we are", but where is the forum that delivers to us a standard of normality by which we can judge ourselves to be normal? And where is the message that nudity and pornography are two entirely different things?
Nude art is used in such a way, and yet sadly it receives less positive attention than deserved, as those who do appreciate it are generally those who already understand that, while the naked human form can be a symbol of beauty and sexuality, that's not all it stands for, and those that condemn it are those who probably need its message most.
For me the naked human form is a symbol of, above all else, being human, and all that being human involves. It is a tool, our, first, last, and most important tool. It is perfectly engineered to be able to do all of the things we need it to do, and there is beauty in it, not just perfect beauty, or sexual beauty, but the same kind of beauty as is found in nature, in a flower, or a vista, or a formation of rocks or clouds or trees. It is an amazing machine, and as such should be loved, cherished, honoured and viewed in that light also, and not just in the way the media tells us.
As an artist I have yet to find anything as challenging or satisfying to paint as the human form, I find that it always brings out the intent of my work more openly and truthfully than any other subject matter. I feel that the naked human form is the truest expression of humanity, and something that everyone can identify with - being something that everyone has.
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