This is a topic of discussion that could go on
forever. Now that I am on winter break I have some
time and would like to respond to the issue even more
so now, than how I did at first in a previous post.
Of those of you who didnt read my last post on the
subject, I said that I took a passive acceptance of
nudity in the public high school for two reasons.
First there are no exclusions of nudity or for that
matter censorship of any kind in the state standards
for visual arts (CA). Secondly the Internet access at
our school is filtered, yet nudity in fine art is
accessible. So I take the position that deems nudity
in art education acceptable. If challenged I would us
these two points as my defense.
But with that said there are some perspectives that
should be considered in depth.
Context needs to be addressed. I explain this to my
students (HS level). I explain it this way. Imagine
a picture of a couple, an upscale couple in and
upscale cafi having a glass of wine, engaged in
pleasant conversation. This photograph could be
viewed in either a travel log article about a city or
a restaurant review, or a couples lifestyle article.
All these articles would use this image in a positive
connotation. Then the same picture could be used to
illustrate articles about infidelity or alcoholism.
These articles would use this image in a negative
connotation So, as it can be observed, the same image
can be used in a multitude of ways. Is the glass half
full or half empty?
This can be applied to nudity in art education. I go
on to explain to my classes a few concepts to put
everything in context. First I tell them they are at
stage in their lives where they are young mature
adults and I will treat them as such. I then go on to
explain that figure study / nudity has been a major
theme of art for thousands of years. Art is, in part
a study in sociology. Its in the nature of humanity
to admire its beauty and visually explore it. It is
then explained that figure study and nudity is a major
theme of art /photography and I show it in parts of
our weekly photographer of the week lectures. By no
means do I go out of my way to display nudity, but I
do not shy away from it either. I show it in the
context of art history and the display of a particular
artists work.
In the course of my weekly lectures on photography and
photographers I will at one point show and talk about
the classics nudes of Edward Weston, explaining
composition and that his classic poses can be found in
current issues of Vogue and Cosmo. When presenting my
lesson plan on joiners, I explain that David
Hockneys joiners has its basis in cubist art. I show
Picassos Les Demoiselles dAvignon. In showing nudes
to my class I tend to lean toward showing nudes in the
classic sense and stay away from erotica such as
Helmut Newton.
There is an extended lesson plan I do, Photography of
the 20th Century. It is a self-study and exploration
of a particular photographer in the constructivist
theory of education. If students decide they want to
study a photographer that has nudes in their body of
work I dont discourage it. I explain that they are
in a public school and must take that into
consideration when approaching their choice of study.
So they must consider the concept of context. There
is to a certain extent, impose self-censorship.
There is a certain irony about nudity in art education
regarding timing. Some might debate nudity in art
education for public, high schools, yet there is
little objection to it in college. So, it is
conceivable that within a six month period of time a
student can go from a high school environment with
opposes any kind of nudity in school to an art college
where theres figure drawing from a live model. The
change of venue can make all the difference in the
world.
Irony can also be found in perception. If one were to
describe a larger than life size statue of a nude 14
year old boy, the question fine art or pornography
might arise. Yet, Michelangelos David is an
artistic icon of the Renaissance and sculpture. If
Michelangelo were to create his David in this day
and age, would it be put on public display as it was
then? And how would it be received by art critics and
the public alike?
There are some who choose to ask permission from their
administration before they go ahead and display nudity
in a lesson plan. This is a valid and safe approach.
But, I choose not to do this for a few of reasons.
First, administrators might be the clueless type.
They might not be able to understand or appreciate the
validity of the subject matter. Secondly, the
principle function of administrators is just that,
administration, and in this day and age that has
become more politically oriented than educationally
oriented. Lastly, through life experience I hold to
the philosophy it is easier to ask for forgiveness
than permission. This is an issue unto itself that
can be debated indefinitely. But I bring it up here
because it applies to the topic of discussion. I also
take this point of view because (as I said in my
previous piece and at the beginning of this writing)
that my approach to the issue of nudity in art
education, is a defensible one.
Education is and has always been a work in progress.
Education is a direct reflection and function of
community and society. This has an effect on the way
nudity in art education is viewed. So conservative
areas (states, communities) would take a less
favorable view to art education including nudity in a
lesson plan than a more liberal area would. The
incident of the Texas art teacher being fired because
of a complaint that her students were exposed to
nudity in a major metropolitan museum comes to mind.
After decades of field trips through the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City, how many hundreds of
teachers would have been fired because of what
thousands of students were unintentionally exposed to?
Obviously New York and Texas are in some ways, worlds
apart.
So is there a simple answer to this issue? No, of
course not. Each one of us must take into
consideration numerous concerns that go into this
complex issue. Each one of us must decide for
ourselves what is and what is not appropriate for the
age and grade level we teach at, along with the
community / district we teach in. Our careers can
depend on that decision.
An opinion respectfully submitted by,
Richard, an art educator
