The cowardly trade in naked images of girls and teens - with its stark legal and psychological ramifications - is perennially at the centre of public debate. But the sheer quantity, ubiquity and durability of such images has given them a new immediacy.
Live Naked Women explores our relation with the nude body. It’s a subject that has fascinated artists through the centuries, and continues to do so today.
Edouard Manet
Manet’s bold choice of subject matter – street scenes, bars, backhanded versions of classic art icons – shocked and disappointed the establishment when his paintings first appeared in public. His use of strong brush strokes and harsh lighting further fueled critics’ anger. His most famous painting, Olympia (now in the Musee d’Orsay, Paris), of a naked courtesan who frankly engages the viewer in a parody of Titian’s Venus of Urbino, caused such an uproar that it was re-hung to thwart vandals.
Similarly, he painted A Bar at the Folies-Bergere of 1882 with a bare woman in a tight dress gazing out at the crowds from behind a mirrored wall. Scholars have theorized that this reclining woman was meant to suggest a prostitute awaiting her client. Manet also eschewed Renaissance traditions of smooth blending and used harsh lighting to humanize his subjects. He was a pioneer of modernist art.
Paul Cezanne
Paul Cezanne was a French artist who was part of the Impressionist movement. He had a very analytical approach to painting. He believed that everything in nature could be reduced to its primary geometrical shapes, like spheres, cones, cubes, and cylinders. He would often paint apples and buildings that emphasized these shapes.
He was born in Aix-en-Provence. His father wanted him to pursue law studies but he dedicated himself to art instead. He would visit the Louvre to gather inspiration from paintings by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Leonardo da Vinci. These paintings shaped his style.
After his debut at an Impressionist exhibition in 1874, Cezanne’s paintings were met with skepticism. However, he continued to work hard and produce more paintings. In 1886, he moved to the South of France where he Naked women produced many landscapes. He also painted iconic scenes of Mont Sainte-Victoire, which influenced many 20th-century artists.
Marina Abramovic
One of the most recognizable names in performance art, Belgrade-born Marina Abramovic has been pushing the limits of her body and mind for decades. The current Royal Academy exhibition includes photographs, objects and recreations of over 50 works from her career.
Abramovic is known for work that explores the body as an object of art, taboo-breaking and the connection between the artist and audience. For example, in the 1977 piece Imponderabilia she and her lover, Frank Uwe Laysiepen, stood naked in a doorway, forcing gallery-goers to squeeze between them to enter.
Another piece involved a table full of objects, from a revolver and bullets to a razor blade and cotton balls. Abramovic asked her audience to use these objects against her. The results were mixed: some sought to harm her while others attempted to protect her. It was up to each individual’s moral compass whether to harm or protect. There was no consequence for their actions.
Facebook
When Brisbane man Nick posted an image of a woman grabbing her throat as she tries to speak in a closed Facebook group, it was seen by thousands around the world. Although the woman's face is obscured, Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the post amounted to "revenge porn" and could be considered image-based abuse. Inman Grant urged those who were subject to such abuse on social media and in the private groups of men who claim to be professional pick-up artists to contact her office for assistance. She said such posts could result in fines and imprisonment. "The behaviour is very offensive and shows a very poor disregard for consent," she said.
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