What are your thoughts and oppinions when it comes to the level of nudity in art??? refer to Bill Henson's art pieces depicting a nude 13 year old child.

See now Cara, you are going to stir up a hornet's nest with this one.

 

Personally, I am not a real "arty" person. I look at a lot of art and go - wow, waste of money.

 

See now, some people will argue that what is pornography is actually art, whilst some will argue that what is art is actually pornography.

 

Is the artist the one that makes it "sick" or is it the viewer?

Is the artist the one that makes it "sick" or is it the viewer?

 

That's an interesting way to put it Dave, I've never thought of it that way

Yeap as far as art goes with me, it is stuck on the fridge, and is done by 2 and 6 year olds .....

 

I am soo not an art person and as far as making a 13 year old POSE NUDE well that is both the aritst Fault and the Parents of that child's fault !! and i think it is SICK!!!!

 

My views

I'd say its sick but I have my reasons......

It is interesting that we will put photos of our kids up at their 21st birthday, etc of them running around naked as small children and cal it cute and as consenting age adults it is once again okay as long as they are in a frame on the wall in a art museum we call it art but that middle age group from ?-18 it's not okay. I'm fence sitting on this one I just think that is interesting

Hi guys,

This one is really tricky, but I feel children who are around the age of going through puberty shouldn't be the subject of art, as these children have enough going on both physically and emotionally that in my veiw they haven't got the maturity to really understand the long term ramifications that modelling for such artwork may incurr. And as an adult and a parent I feel we should do everything in our power to make sure children's passage into adult life be as smooth as possible. This passage is difficult enough without exposing our children (butt naked) at this consfusing time in their lives. I can admire beautiful nudes as much as the next person but lets make them 18.

nudity is not art to me but to some people it is.

Personally, I think if everyone is consenting and the minor is not being made to look provocative in any way, then i feel there is nothing wrong with a painting of a naked child/preteen. I am not an arty person, but i do appreciate the human form.

 

What disturbs me is when they put 13-14 year olds on catwalks and in magazines making them look like super attractive (and sexy) adults - that to me is wrong

Thanks guys for your oppinions on the matter. I'm currently doing an assignment on the topic "What is and is not an appropriate level of nudity in art?" and I have to compare Bill Henson's work to Michelangelo's work 'David'

I know with Leonardo Da Vinci he drew a lot of nudity more to study the anatomical form than as art. He also studied corpses and drew them too. Both animal and human.

 

I really don't like the idea of a 13 year old posing naked. Where is the artist standing in this? It draws a very thin line between paedophilia and art, not quite adult, but not quite child.

And then you get the people who do it and then use art as an excuse.

It's rather cultural too, in western culture puberty is kind of hidden much like pregnancy used to be but in many culture puberty is/was celebrated and displayed.

That is a very good point

sick!! give the kid a few years untill it can tell the artist to get beeped!

What other cultures view as the norm is viewed as tradition in western society. it has always been thus, and always will be it seems.

 

Take ancient greece, where the young women stayed pure as men engaged in sexual activity with pubescent boys.

 

There are many groups/cultures around the world whose beliefs would shock many a western housewife.

Considered me SHOCKED!

 

I can understand the Whole Michelangelo and Leonardo Sculptures and drawings - THAT WAS YEARS AGO - and accepted

as art, but more accepted as it is HISTORICAL ART!

 

To me - It is wrong putting naked pics of KIDS ANYWHERE! and especially call it art -

 

We now live in a world that isn't such a nice and happy place- and that is most lifestyles isn't accepted as " NORMAL "

as far as I see it we are living in a world where there are MORE pedophiles - child Abuses and SICK DISGUSTING #@#$$# - and to post ART it an easy way for the to get their "FIX" in a legal way !!!

 

I dunno mate - since being a mum my view on life and the world has changed

 

I AGREE with Liv too - The whole SUPERMODEL thing with kids, that we do now is terrible, it is setting a bad example

and teaching our kids to be HEALTHY the wrong way ....

 

Talia and Dylan have had agency's call and what them to mags and photo shots, I say no all the time,

Talia would LOVE it , she is a massive Drama queen and I know that she will fall into the MODEL trap and I will loose

her to a world full of Scandal, Drugs, eating distorter s and etc -

 

Arrggg i am rambling on But this is close to my heart and I stand firmly in my opinion

 

Good luck with the assignment

I sit on the fence on this one. Part of me looks at some pictures and believe that they are very artistic and would not consider them nude pictures but at the end of the day the subject is naked.

 

I have to agree with what most has been said, depends of the culture and the beliefs at the time.

 

My Greatgrandfather had an underage male lover for many years (infact the boy stayed with him up untill my greatgrandfathers death some 40 years after the affair started) however during that time in the place that he lived alot of the gentlemen had young underage lovers and as long as the nursery was full no on cared. Part of me is shocked and saddend by this another part gets that their society at the time accepted this.

 

Do i think that we should allow child to grow up safe? yes but at the same time I would hate for history to ban all this artwork.

What does all this teach the 13 year old ??? It teaches the child that its body is a saleable commodity and nudity has power.

I don't think that is necessarily the case. Artists generally don;t make a whole lot of money (atleast not until after they die!) and the models aren't payed a whole lot either. Lookat the nudes through history, art has often favoured models who wer a little bit unusual and valued the lumps and bumps of a larger person as beauty. Is that a bad thing to learn?

I don't think that is necessarily the case. Artists generally don;t make a whole lot of money (atleast not until after they die!) and the models aren't payed a whole lot either.

My point was NOT about how many $$$'s are at issue. The fact that the 13 yr old has learn she has power and she now has "popularity" of sorts.

Children learn about power in many ways. When a baby cries and the parent rushes to it the child learns they have power. Some kids learn how to say things in certain ways to get what they want. everyone of us has heard or seen the cute little kid look at their parents, bat their eyes and says ppplllleeeeeaaaassseeee? and the parents says "okay, just this once" every single time.

 

Any parent who gives in to a tantrum is giving the kid power.

 

Power is learnt in many ways, though i do not necessarily agree with this being one of them

Edited September 9, 200816 yr by maesie
typos

My point was NOT about how many $$$'s are at issue. The fact that the 13 yr old has learn she has power and she now has "popularity" of sorts.

 

I agree Kaz however it it not just this that teaches then that. Look at all the reality TV, you want your 15 mins of fame be someone like Paris Hilton and you will get it. That sends out a Bad message as well.