Nudity in the Arts

 

Karen Colville Artist

Art's subjectivity stems from the fact that it is a form of human

 expression that conveys ideas, emotions, and experiences through different mediums of expression. People are now experimenting in collage with photographic images and with AI mixed with digital art.

 Various mediums. Each viewer brings their own perspectives and feelings to an artwork, leading to diverse interpretations. This personal connection to art is as subjective to the viewer as it is to the creator.

 What makes it a deeply individual experience?  For some it is the baring of emotions coming with age, or some kind of life altering experience as an illness is a form of reconnecting with their own bodies for some their physical experiences can be invasive. For people want to feel alive in their bodies and connected with life. This includes nudity and working with nude image making. Being an Artist or Photographers Model requires physical endurance to be able to hold poses for lengthy periods of time. The Artist needs to be mindful of the Model and their vulnerability and be respectful of their emotions.

Why include nudes?

For me as a Painter, I have made attempts to draw and paint from live models, first when I was in Art school at OCAD in the 90s, then later on in community classes, for many is a form of entertainment while sipping wine and the thrill of painting a human body naked is a party favor, what about serious artists?

 Sometimes figurative art can be abstracted this can leave the viewer more room to explore the image for their own interpretation and emotion or non emotion with the art .

Nudity is some countries are treated as a commodity in the arts, while other countries it is an accepted norm and others are banned. It is a psychological state, a cultural construct, and a deeply human experience. Whether in art, media, relationships, or dreams, the human body without covering evokes powerful responses: shame, freedom, confidence, fear, or intimacy. The psychology of nudity invites us to explore what it means to be seen physically and emotionally, and how this exposure affects our sense of self and our connection to others. Why did Adam and Eve feel shame upon having eaten of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? What knowledge did they gain, such that their eyes were opened and they perceived their naked bodies, in particular their sexual organs, as shameful, as something to be hidden and covered?

^Footnote

Feeling shame or embarrassment at appearing naked before others is a widespread propensity of human beings. In recent  years, there are sites as Only Fans where Artists and people who want to share their nude image or images with others by monetary subscription.

Some Artists create nudes in their work and have for centuries, Painters, Sculptors, Photographers why do they continue to explore themes of nudity in their work? 

Artists create nude art for various reasons, including the pursuit of beauty, the exploration of human anatomy, and the expression of deeper emotions and themes. Nude art can serve as a medium for artists to convey complex ideas, such as the human condition, vulnerability, and freedom. It also allows artists to challenge societal norms and explore the human body in a way that may not be possible with clothed figures. Additionally, nude art can provide a platform for artists to express themselves and connect with audiences on a personal level

 Across different cultures and epochs, it has been common for people to feel a need to cover some parts of their body, if only just their sexual organs, and hide them from public view. Culture norms of what is acceptable and what is not. Some are in defiance of religious control over their bodies and punishment that comes with it. With societies and how they treat women is another issue. Some feminists feel a sense of liberation with nudity.

 In modern societies, most people are urgently sensitive to being exposed naked. However, even though philosophical research on shame and related emotions has burgeoned in the last decades, scant attention has been devoted to the paradigmatic experience of shame at nakedness. As I will maintain, the standard theories, which conceive of shame in terms of a negative assessment of the self in the light of some values or norms, have basic difficulties when it comes to explaining the shame we feel at naked exposure.  For Artists it is a sense of maturity more than the discovery of what the human body can do and it's limitations.

The Artist makes the call, they want to include nudes, figurative art as a means of expression in their creative portfolios. It is a way to address societal topics on what is acceptable and to address certain topics  as empowerment other than simply addressing beauty.

We also need to take into consideration that some people have been sexually abused, some oppressed, perversions and twisted views of the human body to be used  in inhumane and abusive ways , power control and money laundering, human trafficking towards abuse from the powerful are in many media stories, social influencers that used nudity to become  known have ended up hurt or dead. Many countries do not have legal protections of the rights of people that are in countries that have bad records of human rights abuses. We need to consider the developments of cultural norms in the arts and what is considered by law.