Unscheduled nudity and vomiting- visitors react to Abramovic at MoMA

The Artist is Present has now finished it’s run at MoMA. this piece has been laced with controversy from the beginning and has fascinated the public and the web. what is particularly interesting is the implied permission for audience participation that has led to behavior both interesting, sad and strange. it is extremely sad that some visitors felt the need to grope the nude figures on display, it’s strange that someone voiced his lack of appreciation by vomiting and it’s very interesting that a woman was so moved by the exhibition that she chose to do her pace to face participation in the nude. …

no Pride in censoring nude art

When an artist is well known for their sexually explicit works it often becomes hard for them to gain acceptance for their non sexual art. combine that with the fact that the artist is (gasp) gay and there is a ticking time bomb waiting for a ‘misunderstanding’ like this. it’s unfortunate that it is so hard to straddle both sides of the fence in this respect. usually you have to be either one or the other.

no nude by kishin photo shoot under fire

Kishin Shinoyama is an iconic Japanese nude photographer. his work has gone a long way towards changing the attitudes towards nude art in Japan over the years and has certainly developed a following, I have found the unusual shapes he creates and interesting lighting rather fascinating. the photobook images were photographed in a range of locations, railway tracks, and most notably a cemetary. what is interesting about the charges here is that this case began in late 2009 for a book that was published i January and a shoot that took place in 2008.

rare Constable nude uncovered

I wonder, sometimes, if the pendulum is swinging back this way, if we are re-establishing victorian prudishness and attitudes. at times when I fear that I like to remember the proliferation of underground nude art, ribald cartoons and interesting pornographic and sexual paraphernalia. the surface of the victorian era was pristine but it had a delightfully seedy underbelly. true that the stuff that was considered shocking then is nothing compared with what we see today, but I think that there is a parallel between what people will admit to and what people actually do. we have the same two faced dichotomy today as we did back then. would you like to come up and see my etchings?

world record set by Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust

I think it is interesting that nudes consistently set records in sales at auction . it says something about the high end world of art collecting. a lot of speculation has been made about this work and this auction over the past few days, I often wonder if the hype over an auction becomes a self fulfilling prophecy where the bidders seek to live up to the hype and create the records that have been the subject of speculation.

India’s loss, Qatar’s Gain – M.F Husain to receive Qatar nationality

It is wonderful that an artist like Husain, who has been so vilified by his home country, has found acceptance and a new life for himself. the First Lady of Qatar has commissioned a series on the history of the Arab Civilization, which Husain is working on in conjunction with a series on the history of the Indian civilization- should make for some interesting works that will, no doubt, enrage extremists in India further. such a shame.

5000 live nude bodies in Sydney for Tunick Shoot

I am looking forward to seeing the final photograph sand genuinely sorry I had to miss out. this is such an inspiration that people can shed their inhibitions and realize that it’s all just skin, we all have it and there is nothing that special, shameful or worrisome about it. it’s another step forward- especially in a country that is seeing way too much in the way of censorship.

Boundless Gallery to close it’s Virtual Doors

I don’t understand how their business model could be losing money, the overhead costs should be covered by artist payments and commissions. the paypal fees are passed onto the artists and maintenance should be minimal. however, I feel that in the last year or so Boundless has let it’s marketing slide, not tapping into social media enough or keeping their design modern and up to date. the mixed colors, fonts and styles have led to it looking sloppier, less high end.

Won’t somebody please think of the artists?

I have been following this for the last week. there is a lot of information out there and I have not nearly digested it all yet. there are serious, far reaching implications for artists in NSW and in the rest of Australia. this extends not only to visual artists but to authors, directors, anyone. and the terms are broad enough that they could be inferred to apply to anyone or any work involving children.