Art does not exist with out the naked being.

I attend and partially organize the figure drawing sessions at my high school. If not for those nude models, then my work would look rather shabby, and I could not carve out the human form from paper as I can now.

--
Expression though indulgence

The mature content tag is somewhat of a catch-all, unfortunately, which means yes, it does lump your beautiful work in with webcam snapshots of vaginas and penises.

Since the debate of "what is art" and "what is pornography" still rages and will never really end, there's not much to be done about it. Some people would think ALL nudity is pornographic, while some people would think ALL pornography is artistic.


DA would have to define what art is in order to define what has artistic merit, and that's something they just can't do... That is, not if they want to be a business, which is what they are foremost, to attract customers. The closest they have come is the implementing the level of mature content warning. Mild would be yours, and severe would be for the webcam shots of genitals. Of course, those tags are up to the artists in question, so some of those webcam shots users might have a different idea of how severe theirs are.

It's an imperfect system, but in the end, DA is looking out for itself above all and beyond. They want to open themselves to the widest possible array of clients, which includes 13 year olds, so they have to make the site comply with laws regarding nudity. I believe they are just taking the safest path to ensuring their own protections.

Your art is a cut above the rest, I think. I hardly even notice the nudity because I'm drawn in by the attractiveness of the human form and the way you shade you skin, the realism you use and the life you bring into your paintings.

I believe your art is more of the conceptartists.org calibur, which is a much more professional website where you really do showcase your work. You may already even be there. But I hope you stay here regardless.

Okay, that was long, but I have addressed this issue many times with many people who have broken this rule and whined about it when their deviations get deleted, and people who think mature content is a pass to upload pornography, and then they gripe that their XXX stuff got taken down, while other "pornography" (i.e. fetish nudes, for example) still remain - and here again, that goes back to defining what art is and what pornography is. I have been an admirer of your work for a realy long time so I wanted the chance to talk about something I know about for once. Hope it helps alleviate some stress of yours!

BTW - kudos for not flipping out over your kids seeing nudity! The human form is beautiful - as you demonstrate - and should be revered and respected in ways that are not automatically sexual.

Oh, the mature tag bothers me so. I'm still not old enough to enjoy the fruits of many artists, and if kids wanted to find some porn, they can easily find it on Google.

But then again, there are always parents who will find some kind of fault in these pieces of art, and we wouldn't want dA to be sued... :\ So I'll just have to bear with it until I come of age. xD

--
"Uh, no. I have both balls, thank you."

Well the choice is definetly up to you but in my opinion...I think that if nobody has told you yet that you really SHOULD tag your art as mature then maybe it's because they don't think it should. It might sound weird to say that in some way you have to wait for people to yell at you before putting that tag but I think that this is worth considering.

BTW I live your art and I think that people are wise enough to make the difference between mature content, pornography etc and mild nudity!

So to be quick, if people don't complaint don't mind about that 'cause your art is worth to be shown. You're very talented

--
L.O.V.E's just another word I'll never learn to pronounce

I agree with you. It does bother me a lot that because I draw a naked girl sitting I have to mature content it, but someone that implies that a person is masturbating under their pants/skirt don't have to mature content it because it is covered by clothes. I think nudity in art is beautiful. I was also raised with artistic nudity, however I am and have always been a good catholic girl. I was not sluting around when I was 15 because my parents showed me the David by Michelangelo. I was also not scarred for a lifetime because I knew who the Venus by Botticelli was, and I always saw it as beautiful art.

I think there is an irrational fear to nudity in North America, and I can barely understand what is so bad about a nipple, but not about violence and implied *but not shown* rape. I think it is more upsetting the intention of a piece than the real amount of flesh shown in it.
Additionally, I think kids should be shown beautiful artistic nudity. God, Nature, the Universe if you want gave us this body, which is beautiful and something to cherish, respect and admire, it should not be tagged as bad or naughty each time. Surely, if the depiction is naughty, then it should be tagged, but if it is innocent, then it shouldn't.

I was taking part in a contest once, and I was drawing this nude lady sitting, just sitting, more a study than anything else, and I was sharing my progress. Some member of the forum complained to me because I was posting nudity (boobs only) and it could be upsetting for the children in the forum. The irony is that another member for another contest had drawn Santa Claus in bed with an elf, and he had an erection under the covers. Now, I am not to judge the art of this artist whom I really get along with, and I like as an artist. What gets to me is that no one seemed to have a problem with an openly sexual image, but they screamed out loud when they saw a boob. Luckily the forum is European and the admins didn't care at all about boobs.

Now you got me ranting. I've been having this issue for about 3 years now? Since I started my internet activity?

--
Constanza Ehrenhaus.

For art musings and yummy recipes, visit my blog [link]

My stock account: [link]

Here's the deal with nudity these days.

Some people are perverted and turn into giggling pre-adolescents on even mention of nudity.

When a student opens up a book of art and sees Michaelangelo's sculpture of David, or looks at all his beautiful paintings, this kind of stuff is artistic. It's even in high school textbooks, so clearly artistic nudity is tasteful and appropriate for anyone 13 and older- that is, if the kid is mature and doesn't giggle or gawk.

However, when people take pictures of themselves like you said and post it all over the web, or if people pose in sexually attracting ways, this is the real kind of mature-rating junk. In fact, there's more stuff more worthy of a mature rating on this site that ISN'T given the mature tag. All the skimpy, unrealistically huge busted women in nothing but a G-string and little cups on their nipples is what I would NEVER want my 13-year-old to see, and it goes unpunished on DA.

However, with tasteful, classical nudes portrayed by artists like Michelangelo, I would in fact encourage my teens to study the art, to learn about the history of it, how it was done, why it was done, ect. But the real mature-rating quality stuff on here that ISN'T matured is what really bugs me about DA and art in general, and the moral decay in teenagers that I'm seeing a lot of lately.

I really want to see a renaissance in art some time soon- less artists drawing nothing but anime hot chicks, and more of artists delving into the history of art, finding beauty in all styles, and finding the correct beauty of the human body, not just for sensual pleasure.

That's one of the main reasons why I followed you, because I've seen that quality in your art- focusing on the natural, the beauty, the colors, the forms, rather then the sexual.

Anyway, that's my rant.

--
Choose Life!
[link]

--

My Graphic Novel
[link]

*nods* Agreed, you said it better then I did. I dont' have such a way with words.

I think the heart of this issue, at least how I see it, is the moral decay. Just because someone's wearing clothes doesn't mean that it isn't mature. The only thing that truly makes nudity mature is the context.

Sometimes images of people wearing clothes can be extremely mature. Just because fabric is slapped on it doesn't change the root nature of something. It all depends on the context, the pose, how it's all laid out. If the focus is on the sensual and the body rather then the countenance and the beauty.

if I'm making any sense.

Anyway, just agreeing with you, and adding my thoughts.

--
Choose Life!
[link]

--

My Graphic Novel
[link]

I agree that they don't do the process justice with the Mature tag. Especially considering the art you do is nowhere near pornographic(unless you consider pieces like the David porn). I do, however, think it's important to have.

I always think of it as a stopgap restraint attempting to keep idiots out. Not immature kids so much as immature persons unable to see--for example--a bare chest without calling the artist crass. God knows it doesn't work, but dA thinks it helps.

They're required to prevent kids from seeing nudity(since the kids can't just use Google, for some reason). It's just shameful that work like yours is punished because of bureaucratic bull.

--
I only laugh ’cause it hurts to cry
I only live for spite of those who die
I’m only here because people will ask why
I only laugh ’cause I don’t want to cry ~FABWM

Amen! And now you know exactly why I left DA once.

--
Ben.

Let me first state that I agree with you.

Secondly, the scary nudes that are out there are plentiful (and hideous)... I regularly see endless amounts of mature content in the digital art section... mostly overly inflated breasts, explicit bondage pics, and gratuitous nudity with no art involved. These are the pics that kids (needless to say ... I) don't need to be seeing.

The challenge then becomes how can DA differentiate between artful nudity which is often stunning and shlocky poorly created/rendered unartful nudes? I dread the thought of a mod having to make that decision before pics are posted. First, not all mods are created equal and secondly, it is a thankless job. And when does it become too much buttock? To some people, lingerie is too sexy and mature, for others, that is perfectly modest.

Art has always been subjected to personal preferences and sadly this is no different. Often we are stuck waiting to hear the dreaded words regarding too much ... "I know it when I see it" and other self proclaimed expert opinions.