Some Brown students, looking to make extra money, have entered the world of nude art modeling.
"It sounded kind of absurd, so I decided to try it," said Matt Novick '08, who models at Brown. "Basically you're on a pedestal under spotlights surrounded by people, and you're naked, and it sounds like such a ridiculous thing to do that you might as well try it."
"Plus they pay you," he said.
The Department of Visual Art hires student models to pose for art classes and weekly figure-drawing sessions. Hamilton House and local artists also hire students.
Figure drawing is considered an essential learning tool for students who are serious about accurately portraying the human body. "If you master the real structure of the naked human body then you can draw any person with clothing on and it will look realistic," said Diana Friedman '11, who is taking VISA 0100: "Studio Foundation" this semester.
For adventurous students, the job may seem attractive. It pays between $15 and $20 an hour and models can choose their hours. But before shedding their clothing and running to List Art Center, students should know that modeling involves more then showing up in the nude - the model must come up with poses emphasizing different angles, lines and muscles and hold these poses without moving.
"It's definitely harder than it looks," said Claudia Schwartz '09, who models for private drawing groups of local artists.
Novick said a friend, who also models, taught him how to pose. "I'm an engineer," Novick said. "I have no idea about this stuff. Little things like making sure your arms are away from your body so it's not obscure for people. You might want to have your right shoulder high and your left hip high to try to make interesting angles."
The models start with brief gesture poses and hold them for 30 seconds or one to two minutes. As the artists warm up, the poses must get longer, lasting 15 to 20 minutes or sometimes 40 minutes to an hour. The positions, as a result, have to become less exaggerated and more comfortable so the models can hold them.
"For the longer ones, it's surprisingly like meditation, because you (are) just so focused on every aspect of your body, trying to keep it in the same position," Novick said. "I leave there more tired than from actually working out."
And then there's the awkward factor. The models are, after all, standing naked in front of strangers.
"It was kind of weird - it was definitely no less awkward than I thought it would be, but it's the kind of thing you get used to pretty fast," Schwartz said.
"You don't want to get a boner - that would be upsetting," said Aviad Haimi-Cohen '09, who goes by the surname "Sunshine." "But that's not a worry once you're actually doing it."
"When it's in an artistic context, it's sort of desexualized. Once it's taken out of the one-on-one sexual situation, seeing naked people is just like seeing another body," he said.
Schwartz models for private drawing groups. "The artists are pretty friendly - they are the aging hippies, they play the Beatles and they drink wine, and they try to get me to smoke joints with them."
She said she would not consider modeling at Brown. "I don't think I would like to run into someone at a party," Schwartz said. "That would be a little too real."
Haimi-Cohen models for the Hamilton House, a senior center on Angell Street. "I'll be like holding a pose, and (there are) these old ladies, and they don't know what's going on in the world. Someone will say, 'I made this far too big,' " he said. "The majority of the time I think it's them trying to make me feel like I have a small penis, but they'll be talking about an arm, and it's usually problems they have with their own artwork."
Haimi-Cohen said he would not be opposed to modeling for Brown, adding that between theater shows and the naked donut run, "I feel like most of this campus has seen me naked anyway."
Novick, who models for Brown, has no qualms about potentially awkward post-modeling encounters. "I'm obviously comfortable with it," he said. "I wouldn't do it otherwise." But the encounters do occur.
"This one girl in particular, I pass her going into Barus and Holley on a day-to-day basis, and she gives me this shy turn away, like I saw you naked," Novick said.
The first time an artist draws a nude model can be unnerving for the artist as well. "But after a while you stop thinking that it's even a human body. It just looks like a lot of organic shapes," Friedman said.
Schwartz and Novick both said they find the job rewarding and agree that one of best parts is seeing the finished drawings of themselves.
"I would highly recommend it to anyone," Schwartz said. "It's a great body image booster. They're really complimentary, and they're certainly not critical."
"It is actually liberating and makes you feel more comfortable about your body," Haimi-Cohen said. "The only downside is, it's not going to go on my resume."
