I've done a lot of thinking on this particular topic (also prompted by NT and it's PG-13 policies.) Our society's view on nudity, among many other topics, is incredibly puritanical. In more secular societies, nudity is not treated like such a big deal. It's really a philosophical question. If nobody made such a big deal about nudity, would it even be a problem? All evidences point to no. You see indigenous tribes that don't wear clothes and it's not a big deal. We're all born into this world naked. It wasn't until some uptight guy wrote into the bible, and other religious texts, that nudity was indecent that this became an issue.
With that being said, I think the line between nudity and pornography is blurry. Some might argue that pornography is devoid of art but I think that's becoming less and less clear.
I don't think anything is "too obscene" for art. Putting a limitation stifles creativity and affects all artists, even those that might not be interested in depicting such imagery themselves. If you allow censorship of any kind, there's no telling what would get censored next.
Who's going to be the brave soul that posts some artwork depicting nudity? What if we used spoiler tags and gave a warning?
Personally, I think blaming some "uptight guy [who] wrote into the bible" is both facile and scape-goatish, no offense. But that's another topic for another thread. I think nakedness and nudity become controversial when sex/intercourse is implied, knowingly or unknowingly. Maybe that's why it's so controversial in our over-sexualized society and less so, of at all, in those indigenous tribes. Would this be the case if they had MTV and/or Abercrombie and Fitch bombarding them with sex laced ads, though? Still in many of tribes that I've seen, via t.v or some other media outlet, amongst the adults, there is usually something covered or hidden. In both sexes, it's usually the genitalia. Now whether this is done for reasons relating to controversy or protection, instead, is worth finding out. Good points all around though.
I think spoiler tags and a warning is good. I'll pm Meth and find out.
Also, on the matter of feeling like you're "running out of time", I think everyone feels that way at some point during this journey. I think we are in fairly similar boats with respect to when we both embarked on a formal education in the Fine Arts at the collegiate level. I think I mentioned this in one of my previous posts in this thread, but I am in my third semester in my University's SFA, next spring will be my forth, after which point I will have fulfilled the BFA requirements, thus allowing me to graduate. In other words, I would have only been studying art formally for 2 years before graduating with my BFA.
With only 2 years under my belt, I lack both the confidence and portfolio for serious studies at the MFA level. Realizing this, I've decided to spend a minimum of 3 years building up a portfolio, honing my understanding and application of medias of interest (painting and printmaking), and just learning the histories of my practices.
MFA programs will always be around, so I am not in a hurry to get to them. My immediate concern as an artist is continued growth in my practice and an understanding of the contexts in which my practice falls. Both of these concerns, I can address within and without the setting of an MFA program. That said, relax bro'...
, Yale aint going nowhere. Stressing will only lead to you producing work that is rushed and superficial, and if this is the make-up of your portfolio, then you may as well kiss the Yale acceptance letter good-bye. Also, remember, the artist makes the art--not the institution, so don't allow prestige and clout to be the end all be all for where you decide to go.
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Yeah, I know I'm being ridiculous with the "running out of time" thing. It's just hard to shake that feeling. We are incredibly similar as far as where we are in our formal educations
I'm also going to graduate with only 2 years of art classes.
I'm not in a rush and I'm not going to allow my art to suffer due to stress. Honestly, I'm looking forward to time off after graduation. I'll have time to dedicate to just working on my technique, more fully fleshing out ideas, and, what I'm looking forward to most, travelling and just experiencing more.
Those paintings by Alex Kanevsky are really great. They remind me of my buddies expressive style of painting but in a much more refined manner. Thanks for posting this, I'm going to show him exactly what I've been talking about as far as being more precise when painting expressively. I'm actually trying to push my paintings towards being a bit more painterly and expressive too but it's hard breaking out of my comfort zone. My professor suggested I try doing a series of studies to try to get my feet wet. This painting I'm working on now is very much like how I handled my older paintings. Very tight, very controlled, tight lines and blocks of color. In progress preview below
