Nude Modeling for Art

I was just wondering what the general public thought about doing nude modeling for college art classes. Until I find a job, i could really use some extra money. 

Do you all consider this a crass, whorish thing to do? In my mind, it's not a big deal.  But I just wanted some input.

Hi,

I worked as a nude model for 3-4 years, until I had my first child and the scheduling grew too complicated.
There is nothing sexual about modeling, and it is great for body image because a great model to draw is not necessarily thin.
It is hard work though, holding a pose is not natural and the body rebels - pins and needles, etc.
If your boyfriend has issues with this, he should maybe find out more about it and you should think about how much control he should have over what you do....
Our society has a lot of hang ups and taboos around nudity, which are artificial and old fashioned.
Good luck with the decision.

Lalie

I did it some years ago - was very flattered that the artist asked me.  It was perfectly fine - male and female students of varying ages.  No one made me feel "funny"...some did tease me if the room was a bit chilly...if you know what I mean..LOL     IF you feel comfortable,  go for it!!

i am participant in the drawing/sketching forum (naked modeling)

i think it is naive and dishonest to separate naked modeling from sexuality....

i's obvious from the significant's others' rezctions that they are clearly uncomfortable with the idea of having others look at his/her naked figure

i am a naked  male model; for my experiences and observations, please refer to my profile

Why do you label it "dishonest", #23?

Maybe you find nude modeling sexual, but in all the years I did it, I never felt that way, least of all in classroom/public studio sessions. (there are some more private studios and artists doing personal projects that are more erotically themed, but the OP wasn't talking about those. She was talking about college classes, which tend to be more technical.)

No one is discounting your experiences, please don't be dismissive of others who have posed and/or drawn and posted here that they did not find it sexual.

Word of advice, bring your own space heater :-) you will also want to bring a robe. Most of our models pose completely naked while we were drawing / painting but dress for all of their breaks and when the artists / students are talking to them. You should expect / require frequent breaks for stretching depending on the pose you are holding as well. No one touches you or stands to close to you, and the model is in charge of what media are allowed (for example though all of our models get naked for life drawing and painting not all are willing to model for photography, even for reference shots for paintings.)

coffincritter,

there is nothing "whorish" about naked modeling, even though historically art models came from the ranks of prostitues.

it has been said that a sexual thought occurs to the male human brain every 5 minutes

i have encountered male "students" in life drawing classes, whose stick figures were even artistically challenged.....they were males and you could just tell that they did not have their hearts in drawing another guy naked.

for the past few days i have carried on an extensive conversation in the "naked modeling thread at drawing/sketching here on about.com.

i have little interest in repeating myself, especialy when people are not interested in reading my explanations...

in my profile, here on caloriecount i have posted my blog address....it's an extensive journal of my experiences as amodel as well as my observations.

what i find "dishonest" is the refusal to accept the fact that there is a sexual/erotic quality to  being naked so others can draw , paint and sculpt you, even, perhaps especially in the college environment where students are in the 19 - 25 years of age .

to piously maintain we draw the naked human form for the glorification and celebration of the beauty of the human body is absurd and , yes, dishonest.

there is nothing inherently beautiful about the human figure - a formless blob from which a bunch of appendages protrude.

what we, as a species, have done, however, is assign qualities of beauty to each and every one of our body parts so that we can distinguish the "beautifu" people from the "ugly" ones.

and you don't feel that some or all of your bodyparts don't fall in the "beautiful" categry?....no problem....here in north america, there is a solution for that too: plastic surgery!........beauty equates with desirability and desirability equates with sex....after all, we want the  most handsome guys for the fathers of our children and the most "beautiful" women for mothers of our children

only wealth and power supercede looks....even a boorish and no longer attractive old picasso had no trouble bedding is models

eros is very much alive and living in the art studio, my friend, whether you like it or not and whether you are ready to admit it

in every institution where i have modeled, a favorite artist referenced by instructors is egon schiele, a brillant artist and very much a pornographer.

then there is odd nerdrum - he too is brilliant, still very much alive and living in new york....great work, check out his "selfportrait with golden robe"

 

stormywillow,

First off, I was not the one who asked if there was anything "whorish" about being a nude model. I HAVE WORKED as a nude model, as I've stated in two different posts. The "crass and whorish" question was put forth by the original poster, mocha2008.

Now before writing War and Peace there, did you read what I said? I'm not discounting that you may personally find this erotic and sexual, but several other posters here, who have been both sketchers and models, have stated that they did not feel that way about it. To dismiss all these people as liars just because they didn't have the same feelings you did about it is both myopic and unfair.

coffincritter,

there are absolutes in this world and there are human, emotional reactions to whatever happens in our world around us.

and, yes, this is a slippery slope, for even stating that there are absolutes, opens me up to criticism .

nevertheless, from studying art history, both in europe and canada, and from my experiencesas a model, i have come to the conclusion that there is inherently a sexual quality to this whole nude modeling thing.

it's that "subjective" absolute you object to, i assume.

what i object to is the perpetuation of the (subjective) myth that there is nothing erotic, or sexual about it.

just as we as human beings experience the same event in different ways, very much contingent upon our previous experiences, the way we were brought up, et. etc,, so i concede that there are individuals who may  find nothing sexual about drawing the naked human form

as well, not all sexualization of that environment is "lustful".........i assume there are individuals among any class of 15 - 20 students who are struggling with memories of being sexually exploited earlier in life and whose drawings may very well reflect that.

as an artist, but mostly as an ardent lifelong student of human behaviour, i am fascinated by how students deal with the naked male.

on occasion i have been asked to model in my underwear, as a concession toa fine arts student's religious objection to being exposed to the naked male.

i have refused....funny thing, i have, ifind underwear "too personal", but i am digressing.

in conclusion, to underscore my point: i assume that among any class of 20 students there must be at least one who views the experience as having a sexual component; thus the absolute here is that naked modeling and rendering the naked human figure inherently has a sexual quality, even though there may be some among those students who do not feel that.

i am not claiming that those who do not feel that are lying....i could not make such a claim, as i could not possibly be privy to anyone's most inner feelings, as neither could you....to claim that there is nothing sexual abut it, is dishonest.

 

Original Post by stormywillow:

coffincritter,

there are absolutes in this world and there are human, emotional reactions to whatever happens in our world around us.

and, yes, this is a slippery slope, for even stating that there are absolutes, opens me up to criticism .

nevertheless, from studying art history, both in europe and canada, and from my experiencesas a model, i have come to the conclusion that there is inherently a sexual quality to this whole nude modeling thing.

it's that "subjective" absolute you object to, i assume.

what i object to is the perpetuation of the (subjective) myth that there is nothing erotic, or sexual about it.

just as we as human beings experience the same event in different ways, very much contingent upon our previous experiences, the way we were brought up, et. etc,, so i concede that there are individuals who may  find nothing sexual about drawing the naked human form

as well, not all sexualization of that environment is "lustful".........i assume there are individuals among any class of 15 - 20 students who are struggling with memories of being sexually exploited earlier in life and whose drawings may very well reflect that.

as an artist, but mostly as an ardent lifelong student of human behaviour, i am fascinated by how students deal with the naked male.

on occasion i have been asked to model in my underwear, as a concession toa fine arts student's religious objection to being exposed to the naked male.

i have refused....funny thing, i have, ifind underwear "too personal", but i am digressing.

in conclusion, to underscore my point: i assume that among any class of 20 students there must be at least one who views the experience as having a sexual component; thus the absolute here is that naked modeling and rendering the naked human figure inherently has a sexual quality, even though there may be some among those students who do not feel that.

i am not claiming that those who do not feel that are lying....i could not make such a claim, as i could not possibly be privy to anyone's most inner feelings, as neither could you....to claim that there is nothing sexual abut it, is dishonest.

 

There are absolutes, but human sexual experience isn't one of them.

I've also taken art history, been an artist, and been an art model. Some art is sexual, but that doesn't make sexuality inherent to art as a whole. And yes, I object to a subjective being defined as an absolute, with attacking words ("naive and dishonest")used on all posters who don't share your experience of it. Also to being taken to task for something said not by me, but another poster.

If there's one student in a class of 20 who finds it sexual, so what? That's them. They do not define sexuality for everybody. I've had men say harrassing things to me walking to the grocery store too. Does that now mean I must regard grocery shopping as sexual? Why should random men set the standard for everyone's sexual experiences?

You're backpedaling though. You said people who say this isn't sexual are "naive and dishonest" but now you say you never claimed that people were lying...well what then do you mean by "they're being dishonest"?

coffin,

i think he's saying that out of the group of students in the classroom, you can't absolutely rule out the possibility that one or more of the students in the room may bring sexuality into it

i don't think he's saying any more than that

likewise, the fact that nearly everyone else who responded here said that they did not personally think or believe nude modeling or sketching nudes is sexual is a pretty good indication of where most people would fall on this issue

and as you pointed out, even if one person sees the situation sexually, that won't necessarily affect any one else's experience

I think the OP just wanted to know if she'd feel vulnerable or if she'd feel sexually 'harrassed'.  She might feel vulnerable - hence the many people who said it was a liberating experience that improved their sense of self.  But it's very unlikely she'll feel sexually harrassed.  Especially if she takes the advice about bringing a robe, keeping whatever amount of personal space she is comfortable with, etc.

But it's moot now since she's decided not to do it.

The difference though, is that of all the people who said they didn't find it sexual, none of them said "and anyone who feels different from me is naive and dishonest!"

What irritated me was not the idea that some people might get off on modeling/drawing models, but the condescension and dismissiveness towards basically everyone who said that wasn't thier experience.

I for one have not spoken dishonestly about any of my experiences with art modeling or life drawing.

Original Post by coffincritter:

The difference though, is that of all the people who said they didn't find it sexual, none of them said "and anyone who feels different from me is naive and dishonest!"

What irritated me was not the idea that some people might get off on modeling/drawing models, but the condescension and dismissiveness towards basically everyone who said that wasn't thier experience.

I for one have not spoken dishonestly about any of my experiences with art modeling or life drawing.

i don't think he was saying that it was naive and dishonest to say that you don't find it to be sexual in nature

but naive or dishonest to deny that there are people like him, who do find it to be sexual

i agree, condescension and dismissiveness are rarely persuasive in a disagreement.  I think you've communicated your thoughts about this very effectively and respectfully.

coffincritter,

motor vehicle accident on highway; x number of vehicles involved = absolute

there will be an endless discussion, however, about whose fault it is etc.

no , i am not back pedalling: when you say that you did not feel any sexual component or quality to your experiences, i have no choice but to believe you...and i gladly do.

still, i think it is naive and dishonest to insist there is nothing inherently sexual to the entire experience.

ah, the human foot! what a marvelous thing....and what an object of drawing it has been over the centuries!  to some, however, (not to you, of course) the foot is a highly sexually charged object

i do not know why the OP did not go through with it....if boyfriends' objections are coming into play, the matter is seen with an element of sexuality

 

Why can't you allow others to own their own sexual experiences (or lack thereof) without labelling them naive and dishonest? And for that matter, how can you say that "of course" I'm not a foot fetishist/don't enjoy footplay, when I haven't posted a word either way on the subject?

coffincritter,

it's called "tongue-in-cheek".........that remark about my remark about the foot shows how uptight you are about this whole thing.....

give it a rest....i believe you when you say that your modeling/drawing the nude did not have the slightest sexual connotation...gee.

and i never said that because i recognize the inherent sexuality in the experence that i make it such for those who have come to the drawing class.

i do not understand why it is so difficult to admit that the act of undressing and the state of being naked have an inherent sexual quality.

actually, the state of being dressed also has that quality: we like to get "all dolled up" (using this expression as a vernacular and not as a sexist condecension), especiallywhen we go out in public.

aren't wearing perfume, jewelry, body piercings  statements of sexuality in the broader sense ?

as a model, i look around the room and guage the mood, the level of expertise the "innocence/vulnerabiliy" of the students ; how generous they are with their patience and understanding and then i will make a (very subjective) judgement call as to the complexity of the poses, their mood, emotion and how receptive they might be to the odd erotically charged pose.

fuuny you should ask; yes rather frequently i have been requested to revisit one of those in  subsequent sessions

but, as i wrote in my most recent post to helen south, the moderator in the drawing/sketching division of this site,"besides eros, there are many other gods i call upon during any three-hour session"

Um, I'm not going to give ANYTHING a rest as long as you persist in labeling me "uptight", "naive", "dishonest", or any other patronizing insult you wish to dole out. Not that it's particularly devastating; you're certainly not the first guy to call a woman "uptight" when she won't say what he wants to hear.

No, I do not see the state of nakedness and undressing to be inherently sexual. In addition to art modelling, some other things I do in states of undress are bathe, change clothes, sleep, and sometimes particpate in religious ritual if it calls for it. And I don't feel sexual about any of those things. I could just as easily state to you that I don't understand why it's so "difficult" to admit that NOT all people find it inherently sexual in all situations.

You say "funny I should ask" how frequently you do specific poses, but what would REALLY be hilarious is if you pointed out where I actually showed enough interest in your work to ask such a thing. It must have happened in some other make-believe post you'll say you're being "tongue-in-cheek" about, but really, what sort of point are you making if you have to keep inventing things I supposedly said to prove it against?

coffincritter,

you win.....happy?

over and out

I get what you're trying to say stormywillow.

Original Post by xy8015:

IMHO, nudity and sex are completely separate things. Art of the nude figure is usually about celebrating the human body, or sometimes it is used to symbolize  abstract concepts like innocence or vulnerability. Of course there are no constants in the art world, so I am sure others will have differing opinions.

There's nothing crass or whorish about being a nude model for an art school, though. Anyone who would make that association needs to get their mind out of the gutter if you ask me.

 ^ I agree!

i am not talking about nudity.....i am talking about being naked......you are nude, only when you are by yourswelf and have no clothes on.

you are naked when you have no clothes on and there is someone else who is with you.

of course nudity is not about sex.......omg.

nakedeness is, though.

even when there is a painting of you without clothes on, and you are not even in the room, you are naked, exposed and vulnerable.

i pose to you and whoever is reading these posts, a 20-year old guy in an art class should be left with the impression he is a pervert simply because he finds that the experience has a sexual quality to it.......come on....before you answer tjhis post, take a human sexuality course, like 1o1.

i am a teacher....if you are still uneducated...get yourselves some books, enroll in some courses and get back on this post.... mabe some living will do it too.

fgs,

stop telling young guys, who are getting an eyefull in art class when there is a young selnder, nubile maiden  naked in front of them, to get "their mind out of the gutter"

after all, they grew up on playboy.