Nudity as an Art Form

Naked Body And It’s Gravity In Visual Articles

Ever wonder why the naked body has become the perfect power of art? During that period, we have encountered several kinds of nudity in global art, right from the medieval to Renaissance period and even dominant at the regional level as well. The image of the human body simply ignites mirror neurons which have the ability to represent all the different aspects of the human body, little more than what we can express through clothing. Most of the people in everyday life feel that nudity is something that should not be exhibited in art. Nudity must be hidden in the artist’s studio. As much as this seems plausible for certain types of people, it is a mere annoyance for people who often try other people from learning about the intricate details of the human form.

Depictions of Nudity in Art

What does nudity in art usually depict? Does it allude to ulterior motives or do the artists convey something else? To truly understand the importance of nudity in art, one must go back to a time when sculpture was a well-known art form. At that time, the statues were created to tell various aspects of society, including humans, religion, customs, culture and even government. They have become an astonishing part of society, adorning palaces, houses, greenery, gardens, public places, and even temples.

Due to the subject of their art, sculptors need high imaginative skills to bring life to sculpture. This is why many sculptors around the world have experimented with the symmetry, angles, poses and placement of body parts to make them life-like. With the main aim of allowing viewers to see the exact emotions of their art, artists had to go beyond facial expressions to convey their subjects, leading to the use of body overlays.

Nudity in Erotic Sculpture, India

If you take India, it has become one of those countries that has nude and erotic statues carved into temples in abundance. While one might argue that it is because India has become a sex-friendly country originating from the Kamasutra, there is another dimension one should know. Indian temples are known for their gigantic architecture and massive ornaments.

Most of the temples were built by great kings who liked to spend money in connection with their devotion to the almighty. Deities are usually kept in the innermost chambers of the shrine while these erotic statues adorn the surrounding exterior walls. Most of the statues depict the lifestyle of the generation in which temples were built and you can clearly patronize the difference, if you are touring the nation, exploring the temples. While they talk about many aspects of lifestyle, sex is most often included as the main subject of art.

According to our ancestors, when someone enters the main hall, you become one with God, keeping all thoughts, grudges behind. Most of the statues show a male God and a female God in sexual positions while the rest have human wives, found in erotic positions with the Gods. This idea has come up behind the interpretation that even Gods in Hindu mythology must take human birth, suffer life and face obstacles as ordinary people and positions on the wall justify the same idea.

Case Study of Khajuraho Temple

To understand the idea behind erotic sculptures, let’s take the example of Khajuraho. In Hindu Philosophy, there are three different goals of Human Life, namely Wealth (Artha), Salvation (Moksha) and Truth (Dharma). Apart from the three, there is a fourth goal given to the same degree, Sexual pleasure (Kaama). A generic misconception around the world is that Khajuraho shrine statues outline the sexes between gods.

However, one of the main reasons for direct eroticism is that the Khajuraho temples are known as breeding grounds for the practice of ‘Shaktism’ and sex being a sacred ritual in them, the statues are bold and boisterous. While only 10% of these statues revolve around sex, that involves not only gods, but also celestial and ordinary beings; the rest of the statue speaks of the lives of ordinary people. Altogether, this statue once again gives us the idea that God is a central element of a person’s life, even when he is indulged in daily materialistic activities.