Nudity in art?
“To desire the desiring of her beauty is the vanity of Lilith, but to desire the enjoyment of her beauty is the obedience of Eve, and in both it is in the lover that the beloved tastes of her own delightfulness"
Well I have had a good time in the states. There is a lot to blog about, but I will not choose to talk about that. I want to write about independence day, but I have nothing too profound to say so I think I will wait a few more years.
I was asked a very provoking question by my friend. She was wondering if anyone else would be disturbed if their boyfriend’s favourite movie was one with lots of erotic sex scene (... as opposed to the ones with the non erotic sex...) While I do not have a boyfriend who loves watching sex, I can imagine that I am the jealous and suspicious type who would not be very comfortable in fact I could let it make me go insane.
I am the type of person who likes to talk to think much of the time. ...Perhaps that is why I talk so much. (not in comparison to you, of course, Diana.) (that was not supposed to be a slam: just reassuring her that she should not think I have changed so that she expects me to her equal gas partner next time we are together...)
I was talking to Juanita about the whole thing and I have come to consider some thoughts after discussing the issue of enjoying sex scenes. I have always considered nudity in art to be at least uncomfortable if not wrong. But I was thinking about it and it seems to me that if I am honest that I think the naked feminine body is magnificent. It would be not so good if I was ashamed of myself, or if I thought some work of God’s to be embarrassing. My thoughts on sex are the same: it would be wrong to be ashamed of it.
I am pretty sure that everyone would agree on these points thus far. Now we get into the grey area, or as I like to think of it, the coloured area which is not so black and white. Here are the questions that I am now wondering:
Is the beauty of the feminine body apologetics enough to make it a public art? Or is it, like sex, reserved for only a select audience? What happened at the fall that it should have to be covered?
Assuming that there is room that the naked body could be in art, when does it cease to be art and become pornography? Is it in the viewer? Or in the artist’s intention? Or both? (or is this another b/w question? “Ambiguity.” Mr Bradshaw would be telling me...)
Is nudity always erotic? Assuming that the answer is affirmative, what should we think about a doctor examining our spouse?
Just because I love and appreciate this body and the gift of sex, does that make it up for public domain? Or are these two things fundamentally different in nature?
I do not know the answer to my friends question. The only thing I can come to see is that it is wrong to be ashamed of Eros, but that does not necessarily give it license to become a casual thing. Maybe the whole thing is a big mess due to our uncanny ability to make an image an idol and worship self...
posted by Sasha @ 9:59 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I lije theat last thought about making an image an idol. As an artist, I have grappled with this myself. The human body is good and beautiful, because God has said it is. I had never thought about the fact that it may be appropriate for only certain audiences. I agree that the naked body itself is not nescesarily erotic. In relation to art, though, I would think that it becomes erotic when the viewer and the artist agree to make it erotic. I don't know, though.
There is a abstract piec of work that is entirely line and color, but it is titled "Virgin Becoming a a Woman" or something like that. The painting is not erotic, but the title is, and the first response is to look for that happening.
On first thought, I wuold say that people are responsible for what they think, so if a viewer makes a nude erotic, without that being the artists intent, then they are to blame. But then I think of Apostle Paul, who said something to the effect of don't do something if it is going to cause another person to sin. I guess this issue could be our own version of eating meat sacrifieced to idols.
That quote at the beginning... that's the first thing I remember you ever saying to me. We were in the mailroom, and you asked me what I thought about it. I knew it was from Lewis, from the sci-fi series... but I couldn't remember the context and wasn't sure what to say to you. You commented about how Hideous Strength was so cool in its use of the Arthurian legends... and then you were gone. So fascinating and so ethreal -- I couldn't catch you. I still can't.
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