Project Images of woman - Naked Nude

In the last part of the blog we are asked to make a collection of nakedness and the nude and to annotate them to indicate which they represent and how. Implicit in this is that there is a difference between nakedness and nude. I would suggest that it is a false difference or at least a difference that is uniquely of the viewer. In Ways of Seeing [BBC and Penguin Books 1972 pp 47 - 48] John Berger quotes from Genesis the story of Adam and Eve and their fall from Grace in the Garden of Eden. After Eve had taken the apple the story continues:

"And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons....And the Lord God called unto the man and said unto him "Where are thou" And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden , and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself..."


By eating the apple they became aware of their nakedness. Yet it is not clear why, having seen their nakedness, shame should follow.  If 'nakedness' is the natural state of humans Adam and Eve and all the rest of humanity that followed must have felt something, in seeing the naked form of someone else, that they instinctively felt was wrong and sinful. I do not propose, nor do I feel competent, to raise the question as to where the sense of shame that they felt came from.

What is important and as stated by Berger (ibid p 48) "Nakedness was created in the mind of the beholder" It is the viewer who 'decides' whether a picture is 'innocent' of elements that create feelings leading to shame or social condemnation. It matters little what the intent of the artist or creator was - it is the reaction of each individual viewer at the time of looking. Not only is this unique to that individual (different people respond to different elements of an image in different ways) at that moment but his/her reaction can change over time as awareness increases or satiation occurs. We cannot know directly although we may draw conclusions from the body language of the viewer.

If the foregoing is correct, as I believe it to be, then my choice and annotation can only tell anyone else my personal approach to particular images at the time of my selection.  There can be no 'right' or 'wrong' answer and therefore to pursue the matter further is otiose