For some reason I skated through life not ever thinking about hanging a nude painting or art in my home, either I never thought about it, or it didn’t inspire me, or was I a closet prude and didn’t even realize it. So which are you and would you hang a nude in your home? Are you free enough to hang a giant life-size one in your lounge room, or would you worry about what the neighbours and kids would think.
Are you the nude or prude?
When I was a child, and we moved to Canada, my dad hung nudes in the home. He painted or carved them himself and I always remember the nude in the wine glass painting. It wasn’t large, rather discreet and near the man-cave area. Additionally we didn’t live in the same country as my grand-parents, I wonder if that made a difference?
I wonder how much of our desire to hang a nude is suppressed by worrying about the kids, or what others think or the parents disproving eye. I wonder if females are more averse to hanging a nude being more self conscious of their own body image, or arguing the unnatural slim form is for exploitation in magazines, or even feeling concerned about a near porn experience?
Strictly for the man-cave.
There are plenty of man-cave posters out there, girls lounging over Harleys and Lamborghinis, frolicking at the beach in scant bikinis or licking luscious red lips dressed in fishnet. Mostly these nudes are relegated to the man-cave, behind closed doors and easily justifiable for the prudes. I remember one of these posters in my first home, we lived on the Gold Coast and had the bikini girl with the exposed nipple behind the bathroom door. Definitely for the fellows, I think I was a prude as a young housewife.
That same poster moved to brother-in-laws pool room when we moved home, we no longer lived near the beach and had moved to the forest. By then we had children and married for several years, I think prude had shifted to a near porn experience at that stage in my life lol.
Nude art.
As I begun my artistic career professionally I became increasingly more comfortable with nude art, I was inspired by Rodin’s sculptures, Klimt was my favourite artist and whilst the subject of nude hadn’t entered my own artwork the concept of nude as art became acceptable. I don’t remember having an epiphany about accepting nude art, I do recall consciously thinking to myself .. I have no nudes or even portraits in my art; interestingly I was already early 40-something and divorced .. I wonder if there was a link between my awareness and acceptance to my life stage? Now I think about it, hmmm …
Bent Over Nude Woman – Augustine Rodin
Nude Woman in a Red Armchair – Picasso
Gustav Klimt nude
As I peered at the nude art available I still didn’t find the desire to paint or collect a nude, it just didn’t inspire me. The more abstract variety from Picasso was as close I came or the decorative mosaic like art of Klimt. I made some mosaic mannequins but they weren’t nudes.
Gustav Klimt Drawings – Beethoven Frieze Seated Nude
Naked in the lounge room?
Art nouveau Bronze sculpture
Today, with Ray, in our mature age household we have nude art and nudes! My very first was a photographic poster by Australian artist Carol Jerrems. It wasn’t the nude which captivated me, it was the holistic image of an era, youth caught in time capsule, it represented a snapshot of Melbourne’s history which Ray and I experienced – the time of the Sharpie culture. The poster hangs in our lounge room and I remember when I first put it up I thought .. omg .. there’s tits in the lounge room! I had visitor paranoia when the kids (in their mid-20s) first visited but now I am entirely comfortable with it.
The second nude in the lounge room was a small bronze sculpture which I bought for Ray’s birthday one year. He had never collected or even appreciated art until now and this bronze caught his eye as we passed an antique shop one day. It’s tiny, she is nude and sitting on our mantelpiece.
Carol Jerrems poster – 1960’s Australian photographer
My next step
Call me mature age or finding my mid-life crisis but I really do want a nude piece of art! Either to prove something to myself or say something to the outside world or because I am conscious that I only have nature-based art in my home and want to add variety. I haven’t found the ideal image yet and not sure if I will paint or sculpt something myself but the inspiration and desire is growing over the past few years.
“Twenty to Midnight” by Marina Bychkova
The first nude art which has inspired me is the hand-made porcelain dolls of Marina Bychkova. She makes anatomically correct dolls of amazing craftsmanship. The starting price for one of her dolls is over $12,000 and the most expensive doll sold on eBay was hers at over $40k.
Last year I was inspired by my second nudes artist, Emma Hack a body painter! I saw her limited edition prints hanging in Adelaide Convention centre and loved her technique, decorative style and 3-dimensional art. So much I have since copied one her pictures to fit on my new elongated patio to look at daily. For me her style embodies the maturity, colour and inspiration from another great Australian artist Florence Broadhurst.
Emma Hack – can you see the nude?
So would you hang a nude?
Tell us your story below in the comments field, I would love to hear from you!
ALWAYS THE ARTIST
Dina
As an added note…
So I asked my 24 year old son Chay, what was his first impression of the nude art in our lounge-room? His answer was: “wtf! Why is there tits in the lounge room? That’s a bit full-on!”
So much for art lol …
