Comments on: Getting your kit off for art’s sake

By: Craig Dunn

Craig Dunn — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:21:24 +0000

There is only one reason that life drawing classes have taken off in the last few years.

Titanic.

The movie, not the ship.

As soon as Kate Winslet sprawled herself across that couch and Leonardo sketched and then rubbed round her charcoaled breast, while peering wantonly over his pad, you just knew there’d be an explosion of lead across the country… .. .

On a serious note, why is it even an issue?

The “getting naked” bit of these T.V. shows is for two reasons

1. It gets ratings.
2. It genuinely gives the “stars” a bit of a buzz and a confidence boost - like in the army, they have to be taken down to their lowest point and then bult up again. It’s an adrenaline rush getting your kit off in front of an audience - having done this on many more than a handful of occassions.

However, I think there is a bit of British prudishness involved.

Look at the Scandinavian countries. They regularly have mixed steam rooms and saunas - no nautiness involved. Something many of our UK counterparts wouldn’t dream of doing.

From an artistic point of view, life drawing is probably the most challenging type of drawing you can undertake. The room for error in perspectives and anatomy are small. And when you do make an error, it seems to be magnified.

The reality of it is that life drawing/sculpting, has been going on since the beginning of time.

The naked body is a wonderfully complex thing. I’m constantly surprised by it’s complexity, strength and fragility. It’s no wonder that people like showing it off and drawing it.

By: Kelly Russell

Kelly Russell — Sat, 09 May 2009 20:21:23 +0000

As a former nude model (with a hair-free bum I might add..!) I found the experience of modelling for an art class anything but pornographic. Instead, I found that the students were incredibly driven, respectful and solely interested in creating wonderful works of art. Rather than being scared or self-conscious, I felt that I was assisting the students to advance their creative abilities.

It was a truly brilliant experience for me, so thanks for drawing attention to the value of these classes.

By: Ceri Harris

Ceri Harris — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:15:37 +0000

This article arouses fond memories of art school - reminds me of the older male model who reappeared after a short break in class, and settled into his new pose to reveal a diamond cockring ( WTF is THAT ?? ) - what a flasher.

After the initiation of the first class I quickly learnt what an excellent experience a life class is for an artist, always a challenge. Imperfections in the model taught us that beauty can be found in many forms.

By: Jonathan Gould

Jonathan Gould — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:44:44 +0000

When I was at Art College we had a very scary Argentinian biker chick life model. She would identify sniggerers and flip them the bird. The juveniles in our class quickly got the message.

Also, my brother claims that at his college a male life model was sacked after being discovered “relieving” himself before a session. So as to avoid any unexpected distractions arising…

In response to Lal’s very serious article, Channel 4 will do anything for a quick ratings fix. Hopefully the general public will realise how boring it actually is to look at a naked person for 2 hours. But I doubt it.