Sunday, July 26, 2009

Good Naked....Bad Naked.

My thoughts on "Resurrecting Eve", have been spoken of as a post concerning: Boobs. If that is all someone came away with, you missed my point. The discussion was intended to address the complexities of "good naked and bad naked" to use a Seinfeld phrase. I believe that nudity is appropriate in art. I think there is a difference between pornography and the representation of the human nude figure. I also am aware of the dangers, bondage and addictions that are part of human experience relating to sexuality. But I make it a habit to never govern my life by the failures of others to maintain proper relationship with whatever it is that they have overindulged in...be it food, sex, money, ego, fame, religion or intellectual achievement.

Work is good...a workaholic is bad.
Sex is good...prostitution is bad.
Having money to cover life's expenses is good...gambling your paycheck away is bad.
Cheese cake is good....eating the whole pie is bad.

Using anyones discussions on fine art to fuel or excuse your addiction to porn is a sad excuse for maturity. I am aware that these discussions are generally for responsible, intelligent, moral adults; who are engaged in cultural engagement, mission minded, artistic reclamation. A issue for those who are passionate about restoring a beauty aesthetic to our communities through celebration, involvement and defense of the fine arts. "As part of that mission manifesto one must understand that in the artist tradition; the human figure is seen as the linchpin of ones practice of visual knowledge. If you can accurately and expressively draw or paint or sculpt the human form you can draw anything....You can only draw what you can see, and that which you cannot see cannot be fully known."

An example of the issue would be the picture of David by Michelangelo. A strict Fundamentalist would look at that statue; which is considered a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture...and only see a penis. The focal point of the statue for some people's minds would be the nudity of David. Everything else would be forgotten or be secondary to the issue most offensive...a uncircumcised genitalia. Forget the massive height, the masterful proportions, the exquisite form and movement, the posture and the meaning of it all. It would be reduced to the crotch of the statue. This mindset is what I was aiming at wrestling with in the previous post.


The figure, i.e. the nude figure (and I do not mean nudity in the political sense for which so many arguments have been waged concerning censorship), is a soulful being, created we are told in the image of God and imbued with the stretch and celebration of dance, the gravity and reflection of thought, the expression and imagination of spirit. To see the figure in this light is to honor, not to worship it. We come to draw the figure with eyes focused to study, not to lust. We revel in our lines, smudges, colors, clay forms, to render the poetry of all that is human, not to debase it as the pornographer's butcher shop. In fact, we rebel in our prints, pictures, and sculpture against the newsstand rags, which pervert the man or woman that was made with a temple in mind. If as Christians and artists we seek to elevate the nude figure as a metaphor for what it means to truly be alive at a certain time, in a certain place, then we have accomplished a great deal. If, however, we reduce ourselves to the naked body, we are relegated to being the makers of empty vessels without full transcendence, and therefore merely a cold and shivering heap of parts. -"On The Nude in Art" By James Zingarelli, Art Chair, Sculpture and Drawing Instructor, Gordon College (a Christian institution)

"In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."
-Michelangelo

9 comments:

Christian Blauer said...

yeah, definitely a good point. my b00bies comment was only to make the other kiddos lighten up. i dont see it as a big issue in art. art is art, keep it simple. if you have a moral issue with it, dont look at it, dont paint it or whatever. but to say you have an issue with artistic expression of the human body is to say you have an issue with the human body, so you should have an issue with yourself, because believe it or not thats what real people look like.

it all depends on the purpose of what it is being made for. i doubt michaelangelo was sculpturing davids dong to arouse the local women. it was an artistic representation of the human figure.

see, i can be serious at times.
:)

Anonymous said...

You always put things better than I do Eric (what did you think about the vids? I think they discussed a large part of what you are saying...don't comment on here though, if you hated them, I am shy enough as it is...)

Unknown said...

Christian,
I know you think much deeper than your initial comment...ahhhh, the Blauer way: "Thinking so deep we could drown."

Cole,
My intent wasn't to correct any of your thoughts, I enjoy your perspective and wisdom so often...always have, having you at Jacob's Well and in the neighborhood now is one of my great joys.

I think the women's perspective is important in this discussion. Not enough women share about things of this nature in Christian circles....there's just too much male and women hyper-knee jerk when it comes to sexuality, sensuality, bodies, self image, etc when the issues come up, if they ever do.

I will try to get to those video's you linked to, now that the weekend is past.

Michael McMullen said...

Yeah, I kinda jumped on the b00bies bandwagon (*giggle*).

Actually, both this article and your previous one have given me some confirmation. I've been thinking about doing a post (article, can we call these articles?) on this very subject.

Oh, and, I had no idea that the statue of David was that big! I've never seen a picture of someone next to it for comparison. Is that dude vacuuming his head? Where can I get that job?

Darin said...

I love the reminder that mankind is God's greatest achievment. Though I love to photograph nature as well as a whole host of other things/concepts, I'm by far most drawn to the beauty of "His image" found in us.

I've seen some beautiful "good nude" photos and felt a bit guilty for enjoying them, not lusting, but rather enjoying/admiring a part of who God is. (reflection)

Thanks for the post, sorry... article. Like a lot of your writings it's helped me take a step farther out of a dead religious mindset.

Darin

dreamchaser77 said...

I must say that, as a woman, I think that the coin flips both ways. Most women feel that men are "just that way". They either accept it or are disgusted by it. I have been of the latter party because of my religious upbringing, but after many honest discussions with my husband I have come to realize that it is not *his* pleasure he is interested in, but mine. He enjoys me because of my beauty. I think women need to get past the "boobies" issue and really listen to a man's heart. It isn't about breasts and butts, but about enjoying women's beauty. Women were made from man, for man, and we were made to enjoy one another fully.

I hope that I do not offend, and I understand that it is a rather shorthand version, I could go on, but this is my basic understanding thus far of how men relate to women and vice versa.

Unknown said...

Mike: I agree the statue is massive. Pretty amazing work.

Darin: your words make this limb I'm always out on... Worth it.

Dreamchaser: Thanks for the lady voice on the topic. Your words are refreshing to hear. I think there is room to talk further about the made "from and for" statement...that's a deep topic.

The Edge said...

Eric,
As a man, I have been conditioned to feel guilty for enjoying the human beauty God gave us. I grew up in a family of all boys so I did not get the pleasure of seeing the female body until I was older. Except from pictures and art. Puberty drew me to the bad naked were my heart drew me to the good naked. There is a saying I use often, God made sex and He made it good. I have for a long time seen the human body as a creation from God that was made with purpose. It was made beautiful. Problem is, satan, through man has distorted our view of God's creation and it is time to reclaim it. Our bodies are temples. Let us rejoice in that.

Besides, the image of a nude as far as expression in art goes, shows me a trusting openess of mankind to each other and before God. I had a friend that told me that when she had a conflicting issue with her husband, she would wait until they were in the shower together (yes they took showers together) so that they were naked and could hide nothing from each other. I have always thought that a beautiful image of openess!

Thank you for sharing your heart.
Joe

Unknown said...

Joe: I appreciate your thoughts, and the shower path to communication is a beautiful expression of two people attempting to be "Naked and not just nude" as the previous videos linked to describe.