| Respect Models Week |
[Feb. 2nd, 2009|07:30 am] |
Please go to this link to view the entire article. Its well worth the effort. http://catsagecat.deviantart.com/journal/22955553/
Respect Models Week Kick Off
Mon Feb 2, 2009, 3:53 AM
Welcome To Respect Models Week
I could spend a while thinking of the perfect wording to describe the feelings and reasoning for this week and come up with ten paragraphs about why I want to celebrate the model and show them the respect they deserve, but that doesn't feel right to me, because many of you have in the last couple of weeks already expressed these things, in wording I dare not compete with. So for all of you who have come together here, to spend what started as planning for a week and ends soon as a month and a half of dedication to respecting the model, the muse, I feature your words:
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fireboar
Art itself is very special to individuals, affecting each within the essence of their own being. To me art is a uniquely visual form of communication, full of subconscious icons. My intention is to make the very best sculpture of which I am capable, simply, with honesty. Personally, I believe what makes great art great is that it speaks of the experiences of human beings. Art is a message always waiting to be delivered to a beholder, perhaps over eons of time. My understanding is that excavations in Italy were the inspirational catalyst inciting the Italian Renaissance. A beholder is often someone with the same story inside of them as the artist; an artist merely expresses that story for the many.
I personally feel the model=Muse is as much a creator on my art as I and my skill.
I focus on a particular subject. I love capturing people and their stories. I also enjoy listening –truly listening-, and I like being someone’s audience. I call this communion as i feel it a sharing of spirit. I find inspiration in the conversations and the relationships of life. The sacredness of the moment blending with the essential character of my subject inspires me to create with a new life view. I speak human beings, I like this worn HU_Man Hu is a ancient name for God and hues are the colors I work with.
This goes beyond capturing the superficial, and the picture becomes documentation for reflection of the figure’s essential character. Painting the figure from life also brings a level of freshness and immediacy to my pictures.
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kittiem
Respecting models means realizing what they are doing and why. They are utilizing their bodies to create art. A photographer uses a model because they wish to convey some form of artistic message...the looks of the model are more often than not specific to whatever it is the photographer is trying to achieve. A photographer chooses a model that looks a certain way because they have a certain vision in mind. It isn't 'refreshing' or 'special' if a photographer uses a plus size model...it's ART. It isn't 'taking advantage' if a photographer uses a skinny model...it's ART (and she probably doesn't have whatever eating disorder you assume).
All bodies are beautiful, and anyone who is a model probably knows that. Respect them by realizing that yourself. You don't need to comment on their size or appearance...all they want you to do is see the art that is them and appreciate it.
(I took the last two paragraphs of a beautiful article she wrote and I highly suggest if you haven't, that you go visit it here [link] and see the full read.)
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kaios
I think awareness is the key. Models taking a zero tolerance policy against abuse, and making it clear in their deviations and journal that they wont tolerate anything less than the respect they deserve!
I think its important to educate people who don't model that all the pretty photos they love so much wouldn't be able to happen without Models! So dammit, we need some respect!
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cyclops22
More photogs should get in on this too; some of us love our models, and know we could never do this without them, and that they deserve respect. But there are other photogs out there that treat models like manure, and the sad fact is that those get most of the attention, on this site and elsewhere.
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phydeau
No matter who is paying who, and who's idea it is, models are not just animated bowls of fruit. There's levels of talent involved, and more than that, there is a real person willing to give the photographer what they need to create art -- some often stepping into uncomfortable territory, in cases (one of the most memorable recently was a model who crawled into a little alcove in a swamp, nude, and smiling while being eaten alive by mosquitoes). That should be respected.
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wynnesome
Unfortunately, we're never going to end disrespect. So it's more important to think of it in terms of promoting the positive.
However, when we do encounter the negative, that is why site policy becomes so important, that we have an avenue to report inappropriate behavior and have it addressed on the admin level. 90% of the time, commenting back to a disrespectful comment only promotes a flame war, no matter how good the intention.
Spread the word - for respect, and for using the help desk reporting system to report inappropriate comments and activity.
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whensmyledoesnttalk
Disrespectful people will always exist, however, we can keep showing that we're all humans and beauty can be everything and anything.
A size or a color does not create or break beauty, bodies are beauty, and the education is very important here. The awareness.
Also, if we see harassment is being done, the silence is not the solution. Those people have to maturate.
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dwingephotography
Beauty is not a measurement, it is a spirit.
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alexb244
I think that rather than hiding inappropriate comments, which would be my first instinct when I receive one (and I recently got one that made me squirm, someone asking "I wonder how many c... she has f... in her life, under my deviation, in my gallery!), one should highlight their inappropriateness and explain why no one should talk like that about models (and women in general). People need to realize that models are not things! This also applies to some photographers, who believe that models are no more than a sack of potatoes - see my recent editorial at [link] They too need re-educating!
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rojozorra
I don't see why the world is so full of hate, they hate you if you are not beautiful, they hate you if you are beautiful and show your beauty unless it is perfectly within certain boundries that are constricting and horrific. Models are people to be admired and respected no matter their minor flaws, in fact that is a great thing to see is the imperfections. A wonderful man once told me It's the imperfections that make you beautiful. He told me I am perfect because of all my flaws so if you have the courage to show yourself to the world why should you be disrespected?
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skiesofchaos
Age and body have nothing to do with anything. A model is a resource for an artist. Any age, any size, any color, any form. Its reality, and from that we learn and hone our skills as artists.
They provide us with subjects for our work as photographers, as references and subjects for our paintings and drawings, as a means to develop our craft as figural artists. They are the foundation of an amazing variety of the very things we call art. Illustration, comics, fine art paintings and photography, drawings and etchings, statues and sculpture of all sort, mythic legends and historical knowledge. Stop and just think about where our art would be without the models for the human figure. Thing about just how much of the art world, and business as a whole simply would not exist without people willing to sit for life artists, to run naked through the desert for photographers, to stand for the sculptor to work. Not only do they deserve our respect, we own them in many case for our very style, our work, our craft and the skills we have that without them, we could never have developed. Ultimately, we owe them a huge chunk of our artistic souls, and as our muses, we quite owe them everything.
Now does that mean its all one sided? Certainly not. We as artists and photographers and sculptors, provide a venue for their expression. Sometimes we use them to express a vision of our own, and still, they find a certain avenue for their own spirits. Other times, they are the vision we capture, exhibit, and make a living from. Its a community and a family, a shared co creation of something marvelous. We need each other. And we need to respect, protect and care for each other. And if you cannot understand that, and respect that, then you are not much of a human being. None of my art, my photography, or my work, is valid without the spirit of the person that is in it. They matter to me, and they should matter to you. If you work with them, or only look at and enjoy the art created by the synergy of artist and model, then you have a duty to respect that, and them.
End the Opening Speech, 2009
(I just Loved the ending of Marion's Speech)
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Welcome to Respect Models Week.
Peace |
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