Nude art a rude shock in Islamabad

>200804301736.jpg Requesting anonymity, an artist told Daily Times that the NAG management should understand that the gallery was a public property and only such items should be put on display that pleased the public…. [From Daily Times – Leading News Resource of Pakistan – Nude art at Khazana shocks public ] I disagree that a museum’s job is to present work that appeals to everyone…. I do think that it is very progressive of the Islamabad National Art Gallery to display nude artworks, a huge leap forward when so many middle eastern museums and galleries ban nude art as a matter of course.

a narrow view of nudity

Of course there is a long tradition of the female nude, but it’s one that is by and large repudiated by feminist painters and theorists; the reviled “male gaze”, all that…. a response to Germaine Greer’s recent article on women’s art and to the Moran prize winner this article is naive and clearly written by someone woefully ignorant of art and art history…. for recent news go and look at Nancy “beth” reid’s self portrait , look at moran winner Fiona Lowry’s with What I Assume You Shall Assume , (to pick two recent newsworthy pieces) really really look at them, don’t avert your eyes- look into theirs and try to see everything they wanted to say.

New Nude – Falling

I still think the blindfold is a little static but it is as ready as it’s going to be…. those who have seen it in person (before this stage) have all said that they don’t know if she jumped or was pushed but that it is free and frightening all at the same time…. I am probably as happy as I am going to be with the blindfold (knowing that I will never truly be satisfied there!)

Boy’s nude artwork torn up

“I didn’t really care about them after I got in trouble, and I haven’t really wanted to draw anything like that since…. The female figures were among some of the easier tutorials to start and he had seen nudes in books and didn’t think there was anything wrong with his drawing them and proudly showing the works to his classmates…. the figures are poses without details- his certainly looks more like a figure than a nude- there are no offensive details, no pornographic images, just a small figure seated and rather well drawn.

Teen’s nude loses art award to hypocrisy

[From Art lovers raise money for teen who lost Student Gallery title | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com ] Three separate judges were brought in to choose a winner before the Pilot would finally accept one that was not nude in any way…. “We honestly don’t believe those two pieces are appropriate to be held up as the winners of a high school art show, because they do depict the nude,” Pam Smith-Rodden, director of marketing for The Pilot, said at the time…. Reid’s work is very discreet, There are almost no images of it but to me the pose is interesting and there is certainly nothing objectionable showing (no more than hipster pants reveal on a daily basis anyway) It is ridiculous that the competition was changed based on the entrants and laughable that judges were hired only to have their decisions overthrown.

laws of Physics Cap’n

This falling figure was working so well up till now, great motion, a horrible chaotic feeling and gravity, but I can’t get this damn blindfold to work properly! does anyone want to volunteer to be pushed off a building so I can photograph them and get the physics right? no, I think I am just going to have to tie my poor husband up, blindfold him and blow a hairdryer at the fabric until I can get it to work.

Boundless Changes

Boundless Gallery have undergone some more changes to their site including a family filter and the opportunity for the artists to choose their own urls…. I now have registered http://nude.boundlessgallery.com/ to go directly to my profile page. I love being able to register such cool urls with these sites, it’s good for SEO and so easy to remember.

Controversial Nudes did sell… and well

Maya with Pink Elephant by Maqbool Fida Husain The row escalated earlier in the week when activists petitioned Christie’s, the world’s best known and largest arts business and auction house, not to oversee transactions of any of Husain’s work.Christie’s rejected the demand, with spokesperson Sara Fox saying, “Art and culture embraces multiple interpretations and re-interpretations of religious and ethnic symbols that are often highly individual expressions.”Narain Kataria, president of the IAIF, told rediff.com, “Husain is a Muslim who was born in India, and he knows the significance of what he’s done. His hatred for Hindus is obvious in his actions and vulgar art, if you can call it art. It’s borderline pornography, not anything a normal person would consider art. By painting vulgar, sexual images of our great goddesses like Durgadevi, Lakshmi, and Saraswati, he deliberately insults Hindus’ sentiments…. MF Husain’s works frequently depict Hindu deities nude, I can see where that can be a source of contention if he displayed them in particularly sexual or pornographic poses, but most of his images are very peaceful, nudity is almost pure in them.