Like all History, the History of Art is filled with a record of both the wonderful, creative works of man… and man’s degenerated pursuits. An ethical view of Art History must include an evaluation of man’s works measured by God’s standard of righteousness.
Secular Art Historians have
claimed that Art is the sacred ground of man’s creativity and must not be hindered or restricted by boundaries or limitations of any kind. As Christians we understand that God’s righteous law applies to ALL facets of Life, including Art & Creativity. A lack of moral boundaries results in the tyranny of licentiousness and is the pathway of a darkened and degenerate mind.
God’s requirement’s are the path of Life for all people. In Art as in all things we must “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves” Luke 10:27.
NUDE VS NAKED?
The great moral debate in Art History centers on the concept of “nude” vs naked. Is some form of “unclothed” acceptable in “moral” Art? “Experts” have tried to define “nude” as the use or portrayal of the unclothed body when it is not in a sexual context. Let me please clearly state that for men of average libido,… all nakedness is sexual! If you have no libido, I can see how this understanding might confuse you. In reality, it’s just “the emperors new clothes”… they are simply not there!
The Bible tells us in Corinthians that “In this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our covering which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. We who are in this tent (body) groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
God understands that mortality is a burden, and people are searching for freedom from the bondage. While they might believe that unclothing will free them from this burden, the Lord makes it clear that the freedom our souls are seeking is actually found, not in getting rid of our clothing (or our requirements or self control), but in being further clothed with the righteousness of God which we will fully have in heaven.
The unfortunate state of things after the Fall of Man is that public nakedness is shameful. Private nakedness and nakedness within marriage is honorable. If you intend to depict shame and degradation in your work, portraying public nakedness is one way to do it. And if you try to depict private nakedness… but then display it publicly, you are making the nakedness shameful.
When my husband and I got married, because we were both artists, people seemed to assume that we would often be drawing each other naked…. because of course, that’s just about all artists do, right? When I was pregnant, we were painting a mural at a Christian Retreat Center and a woman gushed at us that my husband must just always be painting me nude… and we were like… seriously? And display it where? In our living room? Keep it under the bed? Save it for posterity? I mean, really? Isn’t that about the last thing you’d hope to find from your parents after they pass on? And then what? They have to keep it? Burn it? Sell and distribute liberally?
“Back in the day”, when there were no photographs, no digital media, no videography… unclothed paintings were the risque pornography of the times. Today, their pornography has been iconicized and liberally assigned to the unquestionable position of “Classic Painting”, “Fine Art” or “Renaissance”. There is nothing fine about it. It’s somebody with a perverted mind and a great brush. What God told humanity to keep sacred and preserve within the boundaries of marriage should be honored and respected in the way He commands. At Creative Oasis we hold a commitment to keep God’s Word and His Will sovereign in our lives and in our Works.