I hope everyone has had a Happy New Year and followed through with their resolutions? Well, it's my resolution to treat my subscribers to some changes for 2012. And that includes mixing
MORE VIDEOS
into our editorial agenda.
Thanks again for your subscriptions. With your help we're going to make this a great year for The Nude!
With the passing of Lucian Freud on July 20th, 2011 at the age of 89, a chapter in the figurative arts was closed. To honor his achievements, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is hosting a small but spectacular exhibit of 17 paintings, along with a few by his friends Francis Bacon and Frank Auerbach, until December 31 2011. If you are in New York, you have no excuse to miss this.
Paris in the Nude The Body & Beyond: A Series by Lilianne Milgrom
Turning 360 degrees in just about any public place in Paris is all it takes for your eyes to alight on a dizzying array of bared breasts, derrieres and male genitalia. Not in the flesh, but in the form of statuary, artworks, graffiti and advertising displays. During a quick visit to Paris recently, Lilianne Milgrom sampled the Paris art scene, and gives us a sense of The Nude as seen through the eyes of several transplanted artists who call Paris their home.
Siren on the Hudson Interview with Artist Matt White
The Models to Monuments Program, run in coordination with the Art Students' League here in New York City, has produced some wonderful public works in it's efforts together. And we're happy to introduce you to artist Matte White, who's statue Siren can be seen gracing the banks of the Hudson River.
Recently, TheGreatNude visited the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery on 57th Street to see their exhibition British Figurative Art, a wonderful collection of British artists, several of whom focus on works featuring the nude. We were fortunate enough to have gallery owner Fran Bradford give us a personally guided tour.
The Women of the Sylvia Sleigh
Collection by Scott Goodwillie
With a hurricane and floodwaters slashing the State of New Jersey, it's good to see a flood of a different and most enjoyable kind lining the gallery walls of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Currently the university is hosting an extensive exhibition of works from the collection of late artist and collector Sylvia Sleigh (1916 – 2010). Presenting over sixty paintings, works on paper and mixed media in an overwhelming array of styles and sizes it is a dizzying outpouring of creativity.
The Governor's Island Sketch Sessions Governor's Island, New York • September, 2010
NEW VIDEO RELEASE!
During The Governor's Island Art Fair, TheGreatNude presented several Sketch Sessions in our own exhibition space. Our Life Drawing workshops were open to the viewing public, and visitors were often surprised when they turned the corner to discover nude models posing for artists.
The Nude in Advertising A Series by Jeffrey Wiener,
Publisher, TheGreatNude.tv
This month, the Nude is being used to sell things for ZAPPOS, HBO’s series HUNG, Svedka Vodka, Sofie Yogurt, Psychology Today Magazine, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC!
Here's several new models for the Library from a recent call-out. We're still offering Art/Life Models a FREE Annual Subscription in exchange for your photos and profile info. Our Artists will appreciate the service.
The Body and Beyond A New Series by Lilianne Milgrom
Lilianne Milgrom sets out to uncover the Washington DC art scene beyond the venerable Smithsonian museums. She didn't need to scratch too far below the surface to discover a vibrant art community dedicated to the traditions of the nude in art.
The Nude in Advertising Series by Jeffrey Wiener: Publisher, TheGreatNude.tv NEW POST:Keywords: More Magazine, ESPN Body Issue, Nadav Kander, Sam Edelman Shoes, Charlotte Kemp Muhl
Over the centuries, the Nude has been a vehicle for communicating the virtues and values of humanity. While the nude was often commandeered for purposes other than art in the commissions of paintings in the past, the use of the nude figure for advertising and marketing purposes is a relatively new phenomenon.
Today, with the numerous influences of technology and modern media around us, the use of the nude is as varied as our culture itself. This series of posts will explore some of the more interesting uses of the nude we can find.
Claudio Bravo was a master 'hyper realist' painter, known more for his quasi-mystical imagery and his stunningly realistic depictions of the figure. He was an extremely gifted artist on the front lines of a surge of contemporary Spanish realists, who all looked back to masters such as Velazquez and Francisco Zurbaran for their inspiration, all the while dealing with subject matter relevant to their time.
Rodin created some of the most memorable and iconic nudes of the 19th century. Recently, Jill Newhouse Gallery presented for sale a marvelous small collection of drawings and small sculptures from this French master.
Join us for an intimate tour of these Rodin masterpieces with Gallery owner Jill Newhouse.
Nakha Chitra is not exactly a common term in the art world, with its roots in ancient Sanskrit, Nakha meaning fingernail, Chitra means art, and Nakhachitrakar means fingernail artist. Not as simple as embossing, this is a rare Indian art form in which there is a reverse process happening, not only with the image being created with pressure on the back of the paper, but with the basic concept of drawing itself.
Bob Clyatt @An American Craftsman Gallery April, 2011
We've followed Bob's career as a sculptor for several years now. We brought a crew down to his latest exhibition of works here in New York City, and asked Bob to speak with us about his approach to figurative works in clay.
For those who follow Madrid-based hyper realist artist Bernardo Torrens, there is a familiarity with his stable of regular models. In this show at Bernaducci Meisel Gallery, we are offered a new group of masterfully executed paintings focusing primarily on two new subjects: strong featured model Jesi, and the Spanish dancer Melinia Olicina.
Jasad
An
“Arab Spring” for the Nude?
By Scott Goodwillie
With the Middle East in turmoil again - this time with Social Media fueled explosion called the Arab Spring - we hold our breaths and hope for a new openness in governance and hopefully social attitudes within the Arab world. Enter the art/literary magazine JASAD, which launched in 2008. The launch of this publication was a courageous act of literary expression, and we here at TheGreatNude applaud the publisher's efforts.
An Interview with
Peregrine Honig Interview by Jeffrey Wiener
For many who watched the BRAVO series "Work of Art/The Next Great Artist", Peregrine Honig was a favored "competitor" with wide range of skills for making art. What many did not know, was that Honig was already a successful artist with a following and several museums in possession of her works. Honig has long been exploring the boundaries of culture with works that make provocative use of the nude figure.
An Interview with
Collector Howard Tullman New York Academy of Art, October, 2010
Howard Tullman's Loft, Chicago, November, 2010
For the past few decades, the Figurative Arts have had few champions in the marketplace like collector Howard Tullman. This Chicago entrepreneur has been buying art for over 40 years and has amassed one of the largest collections of nudes I've ever seen.
Tullman also supports the arts in several other notable ways. In New York, Howard is on the board of the New York Academy of Art and in Chicago, Tullman has launched a professional digital arts school called Tribeca Flashpoint Academy.
We met with Howard at the New York Academy of Art for an in-depth interview about collecting art, and to ask him a little about both of the schools. Afterwards, we flew out to Chicago to pay him a visit at Tribeca Flashpoint Academy.
The Body and Beyond A New Series by Lilianne Milgrom
AN INTRODUCTION
Our newest editorial contributor, Lilianne Milgrom, will be reporting on the nude in art and the nude AS art in a series entitled The Body and Beyond. We'll follow her travels around the world in 2011 in her search for the next Great Nude.
She personally experienced this cacophony of divergent opinions during her recent stint at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris as the authorized copyist of Gustav Courbet's 1866 masterwork L'origine du monde (The Origin of the World).
Fragonnard and Bronzino walk into a 60's style house party were pills are served along with beverages. Fragonnard grabs the Viagra and Bronzino takes the acid - and any offspring of an ensuing tryst would undoubtably have to be John Currin.
The current exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in New York City shows Currin at the top of his game and will please those of us who enjoy his provocations, and befuddle those who wish he would just go away.
Barebrush.com is a user-content-driven website devoted to art depicting the nude. From February 10-13, the site hosted its first "brick and mortar" art show, My Nude Valentine, at Rogue Space in Chelsea, New York. Work included in the show was derived from juror selections of drawings, paintings, and photographs submitted by members of the website; 49 artists were represented. The show replicated the feel of many art social networking sites - it was packed to the gills, artwork varied wildly in style and approach, and the curatorial theory was driven almost entirely by a commonality of content. As such, only the broadest overall conclusions can be drawn, chiefly, "Well, there's still a lot of interest in depicting the nude."
This group show wades right into the art/porn borderline problem, showcasing figurative work revolving around titillation or outright sexual activity. Criticism of figurative art, and nudes in particular, is prone to claiming that the images in question are nothing more than fancy pornography.
Walking from piece to piece in his current exhibit, I couldn't help but smile - even at some of the more angst ridden works - with a sense of childhood familiarity of the shiny primary colored blocks. Working with approximately 1.5 million blocks from his New York studio and without a model, Sawaya somehow captures intangibles such as raw human emotion with a medium that is if anything unyielding.
Interview: Bo Bartlett by Scott Goodwillie
12/2010
PPOW Gallery
Bo Bartlett: Paintings of Home
In his recent exhibition at PPOW Gallery in New York, Bo Bartlett offered up some stunning compositions in the form of large scale paintings and drawings which are culled from his personal and professional life. Born in Columbus, Georgia, he depicts a world of stillness and intimacy which owes much to the insights of Andrew Wyeth, who was his friend and mentor.
Report by Jeffrey Wiener
Prince George Art Gallery
Opening Night, January 14, 2011
We stopped by the Prince George's Art Gallery last night to say hi to artist David Pettibone, a painter we've followed for a few years. The works promoted by the show (below) were only on view this evening, to be removed for the duration of the exhibit by request of the venue.
We asked David Pettibone and the show's Curator Ilana Simons if they could explain the situation.
Visitors to the Javitz Center hosted arts and crafts fairs were welcome to sit and draw from the live model. Artists posted drawings for sale during the event. WATCH SAMPLE VIDEO>
VIDEO Coming Soon The Great Nudes of MIAMI
We were down in Miami to seek out and report on the art that features the nude. PLUS, we co-hosted a Sketch Session at the VERGE ART FAIR - poolside at the Catalina Hotel. Read More>
Kim Joon: Fragments At the Sundaram Tagore Gallery
October 14 - November 13 2010
Review by Scott Goodwillie
There is definitely something of the "Wow factor" when you walk through the gallery doors and encounter these large scale computer generated (CAD) works. Korean artist Kim Joon delivers striking imagery, beautifully detailed with patterns borrowed from tattoo culture to high culture porcelain china, such as Villeroy & Boch and Royal Copenhagen.
Bettina Rheims: Girls Night In Edwynn Houk Gallery New York, NY
September 16th - November 6th , 2010
Review by Scott Goodwillie
OK, so who hasn't she photographed yet? From pop stars to fashion models, and in 1995 a commissioned portrait of Jacques Chirac, this internationally known French photographer has established herself as one of Europe's most critically acclaimed artists. Her background as a model has infused her body of work with the style of fashion photography yet at the same time, the images on view here are very erotically charged profiles of the feminine physique.
Carole Feuerman is one of the world's most prominent hyper-realist sculptors, and a prolific talent who been producing amazing figurative artworks in her own unique styles since the 1980's. She has been included in prestigious exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Palazzo Strozzi. Her works are in the collections of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, Dr. Henry Kissinger, President Mikhail Gorbachev, and Malcolm Forbes to name a few.
Join us for a visit inside Carole Feuerman's studio for a peek into her production techniques and an indepth interview with publisher Jeffrey Wiener.
SMALL WORKS TheGreatNude presents 16 Artists
at The Governor’s Island Art Fair September 4-26, 2010 -
Governor’s Island, New York
The Third Annual Governor’s Island Art Fair, organized by 4Heads, is a carnival-like event held each weekend on Governor’s Island during the month of September. Over one hundred exhibitors are using the rooms inside the former barracks of this U.S. Coast Guard property, their home in the middle of New York harbor up until only several years ago, to showcase the works of artists of almost every stripe.
On our opening weekend, crowds were thick with locals and tourists from around the world, who seemed to descend on the island in one fell swoop. Then at the hieght of the afternoon, our model arrived, and we began our Sketch Session Demonstration. Exhibiting artists were joined by exhibit visitors who took advantage of the art supplies and extra chairs.
While perusing for artists in a Google search several months ago, I happened across the drawings of Evan Spiridellis. On his personal blog he published a wonderful collection of quick gestural pen and ink drawings of nudes, created across a span of time.
Evan's name might be unknown to many, but his company, which he runs with his brother Gregg, is named JibJab. There are many, many fans of this quirky animation studio's satirical, political animations out there, trust me. These guys are an amazingly talented and funny bunch of people. Who knew they also enjoyed drawing the Nude?
OvationTV has a wondeful series of programs running this September 12th through 26th entitled The Body by Ovation. This series of programs explores the nude in various forms of art and entertainment. In the month prior to the launch of the series, OvationTV announced a contest for works of art that feature the nude from it's community of artists.
Of the dozens of international artists chosen to have their works broadcast during the series, two artists were exhibitors at TheGreatNude Invitational exhibition in May 2010, artist Richard T. Scott and Jeffrey Wiener, artist and publisher of TheGreatNude.tv.
Carnivora The Carnivora Portraits, photographed by cross-disciplinary artist Jason Covert, derive their inspiration from the 2004 groundbreaking discovery in Siorapaluk, Greenland of a series of rocky substrate slabs (now commonly referred to as "The Sacred Texts of Carnivora"), bearing pre-cuneiform myth fragments indicative of a hitherto unknown Proto-Eskimo language and culture.
The Zoppa Brothers' Adult Drawing event of 2009 features a collection of eclectic and exotic models posing for artists in a hip setting with excellent house music. This is not your grandmother's Art Student’s League sketch class! Featuring the Girls of Burning Angel & Special Guests!
TheGreatNude.tv was there as director Jeffrey Wiener sketched the night away, producing several drawings that will be featured in upcoming Sketch Session tutorial videos.
Sail, Stephanie, Mia and Jeremy From TheGreatNude Invitational SKETCH PARTIES
and DRAWING DEMONSTRATIONS
The models who worked with us at TheGreatNude Invitational completed the community of artists and art lovers that were in attendance. Many found the connection between several of the exhibiting artists and some of our models of comfort, and this helped make our Sketch Parties relaxed and easy for the artists.
See out-takes and stills shot during the events. Use the enlargements as references in your own work.
Sometimes it's OK to bite the hand that feeds. Sometimes that hand has a masochist's soul and will reward you greatly if you just dig in! David La Chapelle is one such pit bull now making waves in the contemporary art world with his current body of large scale photographs.
Daniel Maidman Sketches
at TheGreatNude Invitational From TheGreatNude Invitational 2010
Video Length: 7min
Daniel Maidman, one of TheGreatNude Invitational's exhibiting artists, spent the weekend attending our drawing workshops with Sherry Camhy. Continuiing his drawing marathon, Daniel joined our sketch party on Saturday night, and sketched from our two models that evening. We had a chance to ask Daniel some questions on his approach to drawing the figure.
Corpus Hermeticum:
Odd Nerdrum on Exhibit
at TheGreatNude Invitational Curated by Leah Poller
The works of Odd Nerdrum presented in cooperation with the Nerdrum Institute, Norway
Curator/Artist Leah Poller discusses Corpus Hermeticum and exhibiting artist Odd Nerdrum. Additional commentary by fellow exhibiting artists Richard T. Scott, Adam Miller and Fedele Spadafora on their group exhibit at TheGreatNude Invitational and the use of the Nude in their work.
TheGreatNude Invitational
Panel Discussion: The Nude in Contemporary Art May 16, 2010 • Roger Smith Hotel
On the final day of TheGreatNude Invitational, a panel of renowned artists, curators, critics and writers, join moderator Jeffrey Wiener for a lively, thoughtful and sometimes humorous discussion on the role of the nude in contemporary art.
PANELISTS: Sherry Camhy, Vincent Desiderio, Donald Kuspit, Leah Poller, Richard T. Scott. Moderated by Jeffrey Wiener
When most people are asked to describe an artistic genius, the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso is often cited as an example. In addition to his undeniable creative talents and the large body of excellent work produced in his lifetime, his whole career appears to have been a successful strategy of exploration and risk-taking at just the right moment in history.
Most people associate Picasso with his groundbreaking abstractions of reality, and we are all familiar with the story of an artist emboldened by ambition and natural talent, who changed the definition of art. This is not an article about the journey of an artistic genius through his well-known career. Instead, I'd like to take you on a tour of an artist who used the nude figure to communicate the essence of human nature, and did so with courage and freedom throughout all of the phases of his long career.
Art Students League - Drawing Lessons by Scott Goodwillie
Since its creation in 1875, The Art Students League's faculty and students have been contributors to the New York art scene, and this wonderful exhibition we saw last October, comes from the school's permanent collection of student works. Curated by Pamela Koob, the show includes fifty life drawings by students of Kenyon Cox, H.S. Mowbray, Frank Vincent Dumond, George Bridgeman and others.
Collected during the early 20th century, these amazing life drawings feel surprisingly contemporary, owing in part to the quality of the realism that these talented students were expected to achieve under the strict requirements of attendance at the school.
