Perceptions of Nudity
As I began my research for this project, I started tothink about my own perceptions of nudity, not only in art,but also in society. I have sat through countless hours ofArt History lectures and never really considered the vastmeaning behind all of the nudity. More than anything, thatfact really disturbed me considering I have been studyingart extensively for about two years. I have overlooked themost basic subject matter in portraiture and dismissednudity as just something prevalent in paintings and On the surface, art is what makes the differencebetween nude and naked. If I see a painting or photographin a gallery of an unclothed woman, I look past thenakedness and see the beauty in the piece. On the otherhand, I find absolutely no appeal in a Playboy or anythingof a pornographic nature. However, on a fundamental level,it could be considered the same thing. Just like if anundressed person decided to take a walk outside, they wouldbe arrested. But, if they painted their body and called itart, they have absolutely no problem. John Berger's chapter in Ways of Seeing was, to say theleast, enlightening material. Berger describes men and
All of the artists' works are somewhat harmless intheory. Women are by naturemore receiving than men, but Berger's assumption of femaleoperation is loosely like a side effect of the male'scharacter. When nudity or nakedness is added to these corequalities, things get more uncertain. Men arethe subject and they do something that causes them tointeract with the object, or woman. Before nudity became acceptable to Greek men, mythicalcreatures and gods were the only ones portrayed nude in artwork. Kenneth Clark sharedmy original belief that being naked is to be withoutclothes, but call it art and it becomes a nude composition(Berger 53). If nakedness wascreated in our minds, why not the nude composition? Afterall, we are the ones who ultimately make the distinctionbetween art and pornography. Consequently, on some level, men will remainthe beholder and women, the ones who the men examine (Berger64). Men and women fit together like a sentence. She is naked as the spectator sees her", is the way Bergerexplains this regression in men's views (Berger 50). In "The Couple" by Max Slevogt, the woman, Eve, staresout at the viewer, perhaps guiltily, while the manconfidently poses with his hands on his hips and his nose inthe air. Men get their type of life force from ashow of power, or how much they can achieve or provide. These paintings provide thepower of suggestion free of physical arousal. What anindividual considers art makes the distinction between beingnude and being naked.
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Acceptance Essays
