Andrew Stephens wonders why the public continues to be outraged by nude art.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
Much is said and written about our increased visual literacy in an image-flooded culture but perhaps we are actually becoming less able to read images sensitively and accurately because the opportunity for serious contemplation has diminished? And perhaps we have trouble distinguishing photography - given its overwhelming currency - as an art medium? If these things are so, nudity in art might be easily and mistakenly conflated with sex - or with pornography...Pictured above: Duo 2008 by Sam Jinks
"Nakedness is ubiquitous," writes (Ballarat Gallery curator Elizabeth) Cross - in fashion, advertising, beach culture and the cinema, let alone the vast and insatiable pornography industry. "Engulfed by the ambiguous presence of human flesh at every turn, we do not, cannot, come innocently to the experience of the naked body - if we ever did.
"And yet our naked bodies are our natural condition. Their depiction has the potential to express our fundamental selves, and even something we might count as divinity."
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
2 comments:
With the plethora of images available to us on television, the movies, an on the Internet it's no wonder many people are unable to discern what is "acceptable" imagery and what is not, especially when so many of those images are sexually charged.
I believe that most people don't take the time to think about what they are seeing so they just lump them into general categories without any regard to content. Given all the sexual imagery in the media, it's easier for them to say "Nude equals porn" and leave it at that.
The average person doesn't want to deal with shades of gray; black or white is so much simpler and requires much less thought.
I love your blog and have been following it off and on for more than a year. I noticed the content warning today. (I haven't been here in a while). Oh, well. It won't stop your regular readers. Thanks for the insightful writing and interesting pictures. When will we realize that we are more alike than we are different?
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