Nude Models

Back in the 90s, I worked several months at a computer art school. The school taught computer graphics, animation, etc., but it also had some traditional art activities.

One day, after only a few weeks at the job, I was looking for a particular instructor. I was told he had his class in the auditorium that hour for illustration practice. The auditorium at this small school was only about 50’x50′, built to seat maybe 100 students. When I arrived at the auditorium, the doors were closed. That was unusual, but I just shrugged and opened the doors and walked in.

About twenty feet in front of me was a naked 40-year-old man holding a pose. He was standing on a pedestal and his “midsection” was right at eye level. You can imagine my surprise.

I froze in place and shifted my eyes side to side. All around the room were about 20 student artists, drawing the nude model. The instructor saw me and came over. He had a strange look on his face, apparently trying to figure out why I had the surprised look on my face. He laughed heartily when he learned I hadn’t been told they sometimes work with nude models.

I have no problem with nude models, or nudity in general, but I had never before walked in on one at my workplace. And to make the surprise more, um, surprising, was that the first thing in the room my eyes saw was this man’s “midsection.”

Well, the surprise was over quickly, and now that I knew about the occasional model sessions, walking in on others later didn’t stun me. In fact, the first time I walked in on the 20-something female model, noticing her purple pubic hair didn’t faze me. I guess she liked the aesthetic symmetry of having her pubes match her purple head hair. She was an artist, herself, apparently.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com