mold and living on the edge, a great artist with a fascinating
philosophy. But Art moves on and to copy what he was
creating half a century ago is hardly new work as some
appear to think... but that’s another discussion.
Drawing a tent is much easier if you know where the tent
poles are. The body is no different, but tent poles are hardly
sexy!
Not since Greece have we had so much naked flesh on
show as on our beaches but we think nothing of it - nor a
nude in a gallery or a print by Rodin or Degas. However
a nude on the wall at home? Why the problem? Is it an
uneasy reluctance or are we talking about something quite
different. Maybe it’s simply the embarrassment of a possible
sexual connotation for visitors, with a naked image in the
lounge.
I am not suggesting that artists are not interested in sex- they are usually pretty average people, often more open
and friendly and seldom introvert. Maybe the life class helps
them to be more overt in attitude than others. In class I
encourage silence as I expect students to listen to what I
have say to other students as I
pass around as hopefully my
comments or tips are equally
applicable to all. The ‘life room’
was always sacred and usually
handled in this way. The last
instructed life class I attended
was in 1956 - so I have little idea
how other tutors teach Life - I
do my thing based on my own
training and very much the
way I was taught. My teacher
was a student of Augustus John,
when he was at the Slade in the
1920’s.
On a lighter side,
I introduced the model to a
weekend course of about 16
mature students from local art
clubs and societies. First pose,
who commented on the life size nude I was painting
in my studio “You would not have said that if I had
been a gynaecologist.” She looked a little shocked
but thoughtful. Likewise a Scots doctor buddy visiting
for the first time looked equally thoughtful and said
“Lucky devil! I only got the dead ones!” Such is life,
and so I feel, fair comment. We are all human.
Now you may think that sounds a bit rude of
me, but my point is that many professionals work
with bodies, but it is only the artist who is actually
expected to voyeur the model - that’s interesting I
think. Would you expect an Osteopath not to touch
you? Worse for the life tutor in this sacred class, we
can no longer sit close, as I experienced, behind
the student astride the same donkey, to peer over a
shoulder while drawing and explaining to show the
way to analyse the pose. Ideally the tutor must get as close as
possible, and at the same angle, to draw a drawing alongside
the students drawing for comparison. Pointing out where the
light falls and to explain the planes of the body. I am told life
drawing has almost faded out in some art schools. Is it too
dangerous for especially men, to teach? I also suspect
a lack of demonstration by tutors to draw in front of
a class - could the strength of their own drawing
be that they were victims of such
suppression?
With the advent of computers,
graphics don’t require the same
virtuoso skill always, although I
myself own a drawing programme for
book illustration, but I feel so-called fine art ie. professional
academic art, today often lacks a solid drawing background.
Hence the many installations, ‘found art’ and what a
professional friend called ‘amusements’. Conversely I recently
saw film of Joseph Beuys in exhibition at the Tate Modern in
London, a man I have admired since the sixties for breaking the
A Social Realist painting re: ‘The 1882 Massacre of the Women of Braes’ -
2m Oil and collaged ‘letters to the press’ from Crofters 1990’s which are
readable in the faces- Sabhal Mor Ostaig Isle of Skye Scotland.Winslow Homers maquette.Two only of many preparatory studies in watercolour of angry women
in preperation for the ‘1882 Massacre of the Women of Braes’ above..
An artists
‘Donkey easel’.