This is one-third of the pieces of writing I submitted for the MA Art Theory & Criticism application in UP Diliman.
It was on submission day when I realized that I didn’t want to be a part of thirty artists exhibiting our nude self-portraits. On that day, I had finished one mediocre self-portrait. All throughout the process I was frustrated. Isn’t this what I wanted? More opportunities to paint and be exposed? I bought a new set of oil paint and paint brushes for this, why don’t I feel compelled in doing it? With flesh tones and green tones of paint all over my body, I realized that I’m past Nude Art. And when I say this, I mean that Nude Art meant liberation for me and it was time to seek a deeper meaning than flesh.
Nude Art, as defined by Google Arts & Culture, is the artistic representation of the human body. Not to be mistaken with Nakedness that is simply the unclothing of the body. However even with this difference, many people still find it offensive. Brian Yoder of Art Renewal Center (ARC) said that nude and sex is not the same thing. However, we must not deny that some people do attach a negative connotation to nude art. Some think that it encourages our sexual desires. Some people think that it is not suitable for children to view. And some think it goes against their religious beliefs.
It is for these reasons that Nude Art is for Conservatives. No one gets more intrigued with Nude Art than those who are not accustomed nor exposed to it often. In Christianity, Jesus said that our bodies are temples. If that is so, must we not appreciate our bodies with wonder and amazement as we do with temples? Nude art is the liberation from one’s cages – whether it be in a form of thoughts, religion or standards of society.
Reference:
Gale, T. (2007). Arts: Visual Arts and Artists. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Culture Society History. doi:10.1163/1872-5309_ewic_ewiccom_0299
Yoder, B. (n.d.). Nudity in Art: A Virtue or Vice? Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://artrenewal.org/Article/Title/nudity-in-art-a-virtue-or-vice