WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD SCULPT NUDES

Home Culture WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD SCULPT NUDES

Shame.

With the Roman Empire’s conversion to Christianity during Constantine’s rule, the fig leaf became the common aesthetic to use instead of completely nude sculpture. Adam and Eve, who covered their nakedness after eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, influenced the practice.

They were ashamed.

And it seems we’re still more comfortable being ashamed of our own nakedness rather than glorifying man’s pre-fallen state.

As recently as six years ago, a nude sculpture was forcibly removed from public view in Mount Clemens, Mich.—only 120 miles away from Hillsdale.

The piece entitled “Walking Man” by Carl Goines was removed from the front of the Anton Art Center after individual complaints were made.

But on the other hand, some boundaries should be observed. All those fig leaves back in the day were a tool used to cover up “Old Rome,” the unchristian, licentious Rome. Also, a large statue of a naked man in a park where kids play (even in modern society) is bound to make people uncomfortable.

We keep boundaries clear even in our art department. Hillsdale College does not have nude models for the department’s drawing and sculpture classes.

That’s probably a good thing with a campus as small as ours. I wouldn’t want to not recognize one of my peers because I happened to see them outside the classroom with clothes on. Or worse, recognize them and feel weird.

But that’s not to say students should shy away from creating art that focuses on the human form, and even without nude models, Hillsdale College students have embraced this age-old art form. In last year’s student art exhibit, Natalie Knudsen (’12) showcased a nude bronze statue, which won awards and now sits on display in the Sage Center for the Arts.

If covering the body represents shame, the beauty of a sculpted nude should represent our appreciation of God’s creation — our appreciation of God’s image in us. And that type of beauty is nothing of which to be ashamed.

 

                        

                                               rturnbull@hillsdale.edu