Reading Response to ‘Nudity as a Costume in Classical Art’ Nudity played a tremendously huge role in Greek culture in Classical times in various ways. Firstly, it was used to depict male beauty. The Greeks really admired the young, athletic bodies of men, as they came to represent strength and glory in a heroic and almost godlike manner. This admiration transitioned into the concept of athletic nudity; it became the “uniform” for the athlete. When athletic competitions such as the Olympic Games came about, these young men would train in the nude, mainly to intimidate their opponents by showing off their physique. However, it is important to note that these men weren’t entirely nude; they wore a perizoma – a garment used to cover the phallic region. The reason Greek men did not expose their genitals leads me to the idea of religious nudity. The Greeks believed that an exposed phallic…
The nude figure is often viewed in many works of art to emphasis the ideals of male and female beauty in their humanly form. While it was prominent in the times of Ancient Greece, there was a brief hiatus in the middle ages. The Renaissance reawakened the concept of nudity in art to express human energy, life and basic and complex emotions. The modern artist continues to explore classical themes and gravitate towards portraying people in a more individualistic way. But for the purpose of…
idea of nudity presents a complex history and disputing views. The current society shies away from the idea of nakedness, but the Ancient Greeks sculpted naked statues with no shame. The topic of nude statues creates an environment of power from the artist’s decision of sculpting. Even the famous poet, Homer, recognizes the purpose and idea of nudity in The Odyssey. In Homer’s poem, The Odyssey, a naked Odysseus wanders around the river’s bank in Scheria, and he approaches the daughter of…
In the 21st century companies display the human body in a provocative manner with nudity on billboards and advertisements in magazines. As a person looks at an advertisement for perfume or nail polish, the eyes go straight to the naked body of the model. When seeing the beautiful, sexy model with the beauty products, the buyer falls in the trap of buying the products believing that they will also feel beautiful and sexy. They want to seek the pleasure the model exhibits while wearing the…
analyze the current issue of public nudity in much of the Western world. In an article by Monica Tan, she recounts her experience visiting an art gallery nude and exploring the world of “naturism.” Tan explains that naturists are people who feel trapped by clothing and want to establish a closer connection with their natural form. This is differs from the people who she classifies as exhibitionists, or those who use nudity to be seen in a sexual way (Tan 2015). For those who are proponents of…
The relationship that exists between images and the sense of self developed in Berger’s Ways of Seeing offers an interesting perspective on the difference between men and women. Berger maintains a distinction in the social pressures that exist for men compared to those that exist for women. Paramount to his argument is the form of art known as nudity. Berger presents an idea of nudity as another form of dress worn by women as a method of becoming an object. In contrast to this is definition of…
ive seen by Nan Goldin and what I read about this exhibition. Going into MoMA, I didn’t know what to expect, I expected mostly nudity and drugs because of the big warning that was placed in the very entrance of the exhibition. It also mentioned that she was one of the many protagonists in this series of photographs and that it included more than simply nudity but rather love, loss, sex, drug use, the joy of their children and even domestic violence. This exhibition contained 700 snap-shot like…
Palomar is discreet upon his actions, yet he fails to realize the implications of viewing the woman 's breast in such a derogatory manner. His inner restrictions, specifically society’s perception of nudity, compel his course of actions as he is torn from one thought to another. It is suggested that social conventions related to nudity create confusion and miscommunication amongst individuals. In the opening paragraph, Palomar 's conflict becomes evident to the reader. An internal conflict is…
Renaissance nudes to trace the roots of his observation. When discussing the cultural context of Renaissance paintings, Berger makes the choice not to directly spell out their connection to modern women’s self-objectification. The reader is expected to formulate many of the points implicit in the text in his or her own mind, who has just been forced to understand its thesis through their own personal experiences with the subject matter. Personally, I was able to find my own meaning in the…
The Greek practice of presenting the male human form nude was founded upon the viewer’s perception of the statue. The main idea behind this was to show how “heroic” the person or god that is being represented is in their mind. The Greeks were not trying to portray that they performed many of the daily requirements of life in the nude or that it was common for men in Greece to just be naked whenever they felt the need. Similarly, it would make no sense to ride horses naked or, worst of all, to…