MODELS
Excerpt from Nude Attitude
article Nude Art 1995
(Published Naturally
Magazine Fall 1995 "If statues are free why not we?")
Standing naked
in the middle of a room full of clothed strangers who are all looking at you from every angle is the scene in a bad dream
for most modest people. It's an uneventful everyday occurrence for an artists'
model in a figure drawing class. Modeling seems an ideal occupation for nudists,
and quite a few nudists have modeled at least informally, if not as a steady profession.
While a modest
person, uncomfortable with being nude in public, would have to forego modeling, the nudity only gets you on the stand. From there, depending on the amount of professionalism you bring to the art, it becomes
work. Modeling requires patience and stamina to remain motionless for 20 to 30
minutes, and endurance to repeat the same pose after a five minute break. Some
classes use the same pose for three or more hours. In a standard life drawing
class, there are warm up exercises, or gesture drawings that require a frequent pose change, from every five minutes to as
often as 30 or 15 seconds.
Being male, I
tend to show action and tension in my short poses, which can be quite a workout in 10 or 15 minutes. I've seen some female models expend as much energy in their less aggressive stop-action ballet. Indeed, having always been too self-conscious to dance, my modeling has given me a certain sense of grace
as I assume various traditional art poses.
Having an interest
in art makes modeling more enjoyable and rewarding. I decided to model for art
classes in the mid 80s while taking a recreational figure drawing class at Miami Dade Community College. As an art student, I had become aware that there was a need for more male models. The few male models that could be booked, quite often failed to show up.
Nude art, it seems, has been traditionally focused on females in our society.
A middle aged female model who was posing for my class inspired me to try a new experience.
This was simultaneous
to my renewed interest in nudism, and fortunately my first nude pool party was a day before my first modeling gig at the University
of Miami. Even so, entering a room full of clothed people naked is not exactly
the same as hanging out with a bunch of naked people. I was somewhat nervous
and self-conscious that first class, but as I gained experience, my self-confidence on the stand could actually dispel the
embarrassed discomfort one could sense in the young art students who were inexperienced with nudity.
Like
nudism, nude art is a healthy experience. Artists and art students benefit from
their exposure to the nude human form, and quite often become more daring and free themselves.
I've done collaborative nude photography with three artist friends of mine who saw their own nude portrayal as matter-of-factly
as they saw mine.
