Fat Acceptance Art or Photography
Sandra Doyle
Ev (emorgan@you've.got.to.be.kidding) wrote:
: Well, I think I found a forum (ssfa) to resurect the idea. What do
: y'all think? I am not talented enough in any visual medium to do the
: work myself. But I think it is a fabulous idea (if I say so myslef)
Sounds interesting, Ev, but don't short-change yourself and your creative
talents. If you can think it, you can be/do it, eh? Go ahead and start
working on it, do some "studies", you'll be amased at what you can come up
with. Sometimes, those who just jump into something not knowing all the
ins and outs of the art, end up finding something unique about it and it
makes the project that much more interesting and fresh.
I have just begun studying drawing the human figure myself, although I
have been an artist all my life, I gave up drawing years ago because I
didn't think I had the gift, only the urge. Now I know that I was mistaken,
all I needed was the patience to develop the gift, something I didn't
have when I was younger. However, when I was younger I pursued
photography and writing, both of which I'm damn good at, but neither has
given me the satisfaction and thrill that drawing gives me.
Your idea sounds very interesting and I would encourage you to pursue it.
Play around with it, test different mediums, drawing, photos, molds, etc.
It doesn't matter if what you play with pitters out, you may find it
leads you in another direction. Experiment, have fun with it.
Let me tell you, weirder things end up in museums. Recently,
the Phila Museum of Art installed a piece that someone did..., molds of
various belly buttons. Yes, I'm not kidding, navals (sp?), innies and
outies, plaster of paris reversed belly button molds. What could be weirder?
Stretch marks? Hell, I say go for it.
Sandra
neko
On Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:23:04 -0700, Ev
<emorgan@you've.got.to.be.kidding> wrote:
>At that time, I thought a lot about doing something similar with fat
>women and men. My original idea was a photo essay on stretch marks.
>The beautiful natural patterns our skin makes. I ran the idea by a
>friend who (I forgot this fact when I asked her) is very anti-fat. She
>thought it was a terrible idea, and I never persued the idea any
>further.
Brings back memories! When I was in university, most of my friends
were in printmaking. I did a lot of modeling for them, and ended up
as the main model in two separate grad student shows of their
material. At the time, I was a size 14-16 or something like that (12
years and ten sizes ago... shee!). One artist had done a series of
prints on a plastic film, the images being about 8 foot by 3 foot
nudes of me with various leaves & objects projected over me with a
slide projector. The other artist did body casts of me, and had
collections of my body parts sitting around the place, as well as
about a hundred wooden cutouts with pastel drawings of me on them,
also nude, varying in size from about a foot to a few really large
ones, about 12 feet tall. The work the women I'd modelled for was
great stuff... really creative, really strong -- I myself was very
surprised that although I was in both of the displays, that there was
no connection between one and the other. I was just another media to
be used, like paint or ink or anything else -- a really freeing
experience for me, body-acceptance-wise. I wasn't the focus of the
exhibit -- I was a part of a whole, part of the message, and the
message in both displays was a celebratory one.
It was really interesting to see how many people were completely
freaked at a "large" model, even in an artistic environment. I
wandered around the room at the opening, and got a lot of pleasure out
of listening to positive and negative comments -- the negative
comments almost invariably were almost invariably about the choice of
model, not the material. The strength of their work was so different.
I'd then ask them why they felt that way, and watch as they slowly
realized they were talking to the choice of model. Hee hee hee... :)
Okay, we're talking about Alberta, Canada... not exactly the fat
acceptance capital of the world, but it still surprised me. I was
also pleasantly surprised at the positive amount of attention I got
(give me a break, I was 19 & impressionable). :) I had dates for
years to come, and modelling jobs to keep me in pins for a few years,
too.
I guess what I'm saying is that there are people who are going to see
fault in size, no matter the artistic merit, the beauty, the message
that the artist is going to put out. I didn't realize how many of my
own friends were fat-phobic until I did this kind of work -- afraid of
their own fat, afraid they might get some -- not in any rational
sense, but in a real "aieeee!" kind of way. Strange, because most of
the artists I know agree that they prefer to draw a large model, for a
variety of reasons. They also agree that it's harder to get a larger
model who is comfortable enough to pose.
>Well, I think I found a forum (ssfa) to resurect the idea. What do
>y'all think? I am not talented enough in any visual medium to do the
>work myself. But I think it is a fabulous idea (if I say so myslef)
>and have decided, when I have that "extra" cash around, to commission
>a fat positive portrait of myself (the medium doesn't matter much to
>me).
I think it's a great idea. I agree with the other poster that you can
certainly work on it yourself, either by finding some friends who take
photos, draw, paint, whatever, and working with them on a project
together, or cultivating the ability yourself. If you see the beauty
in yourself, you're sure to see it in others, and think of ways that
you and others can bring it out. I'm not particularly visually
talented either (although I paint a really great watercolour cat), but
I come up with a lot of ideas that have worked with the help of other
people. Go for it!
neko
"all right, which of you wise asses is the turkey?"
kuro...@raindogs.net
Gulliver
In article <Pine.GSO.3.95.97061...@oso.slonet.org>, Ev
<emorgan@you've.got.to.be.kidding> writes
>
[snip]
>I would really like to hear other's reactions and ideas regarding
>this.
Sounds like a positively wonderful idea to me.
--
Angus Gulliver
an...@gulliver1.demon.co.uk
also a.w.r.g...@herts.ac.uk ** this address ceases on 31 July 1997
and an...@spuddy.mew.co.uk
http://www.gulliver1.demon.co.uk
Ev
A couple years back, I saw a magazine article with a photo spread
included about women who had had mastectomies. The women who were
intervied and had participated as models spoke about how seeing thier
bodies as art helped them accept the loss of thier breast(s).
At that time, I thought a lot about doing something similar with fat
women and men. My original idea was a photo essay on stretch marks.
The beautiful natural patterns our skin makes. I ran the idea by a
friend who (I forgot this fact when I asked her) is very anti-fat. She
thought it was a terrible idea, and I never persued the idea any
further.
Well, I think I found a forum (ssfa) to resurect the idea. What do
y'all think? I am not talented enough in any visual medium to do the
work myself. But I think it is a fabulous idea (if I say so myslef)
and have decided, when I have that "extra" cash around, to commission
a fat positive portrait of myself (the medium doesn't matter much to
me).
I would really like to hear other's reactions and ideas regarding
this.
Ev
_______________________________________________________________________________
eem <at> efn <dot> org
Replying to the header is futile. Junk e-mail will be illiminated.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Mary Kay Kare
> At that time, I thought a lot about doing something similar with fat
> women and men. My original idea was a photo essay on stretch marks.
> The beautiful natural patterns our skin makes. I ran the idea by a
> friend who (I forgot this fact when I asked her) is very anti-fat. She
> thought it was a terrible idea, and I never persued the idea any
> further.
There is a book of pictures of BBW called Women En Large. Photos by
Laurie Edison, text by Debbie NOtkin.
MK
Mary Kay Kare
Compuserve's Team SF/F
Carol J.
There is a life-drawing group that meets weekly in my town, and they
are always looking for models. I suggested (through one of the
participants)
a fat model, and she reported to me that all but one person saw no
reason
why they should learn to draw fat...they felt like they needed to be
able to see the muscles so they would be able to draw "real" bodies.
Oh, so much work to be done...
Chris and Lynn Cage
> Well, I think I found a forum (ssfa) to resurect the idea. What do
> y'all think? I am not talented enough in any visual medium to do the
> work myself. But I think it is a fabulous idea (if I say so myslef)
> and have decided, when I have that "extra" cash around, to commission
> a fat positive portrait of myself (the medium doesn't matter much to
> me).
>
> I would really like to hear other's reactions and ideas regarding
> this.
>
Please keep me posted - I don't have a lot of time to write at this point,
but I would be interested in keeping in touch with this group.
I am a professional artist (painter/mixed media), and body issues are
something that I have been interested for a while. This is not a new area
for artists - body issues have been explored for many years and there is a
lot "out there" to see. But a specialized group of creative people who are
intested in the body as subject matter seems like a fresh idea.
For my masters thesis show I did a body of work that focused on images of
diseased cells. As disturbing as in sounds, the images (that I used as a
resource) we're very beautiful and soothing and almost looking like
landscapes.
I am also a large person and have a strong interest in "fat issues" as a
sociological situation. Having a group to share these toughts visually
would be great. I would love to share work over the web. Lets keep in
touch!
Miche
In article <339db99d...@news.portal.ca>
kuro...@raindogs.net (neko) writes:
> I didn't realize how many of my
> own friends were fat-phobic until I did this kind of work [artist's model] -- afraid of
> their own fat, afraid they might get some -- not in any rational
> sense, but in a real "aieeee!" kind of way. Strange, because most of
> the artists I know agree that they prefer to draw a large model, for a
> variety of reasons. They also agree that it's harder to get a larger
> model who is comfortable enough to pose.
You know, I've had snippy remarks from an artist I know (-not- a
friend) that thin models are 'better' because they're 'harder to draw.'
Then again, this person was somewhat less fat-accepting than Ardrool.
Miche
--------------------
Miche Campbell <*>
Captain of the Starship Yentaprise
Remove <no-ads.> in address before emailing me.
My opinions are mine alone, not those of the University of Otago
You say Chaos like it's a *bad* thing!
Sandra Doyle
Miche (michelle...@no-ads.stonebow.otago.ac.nz) wrote:
: In article <339db99d...@news.portal.ca>
: kuro...@raindogs.net (neko) writes:
: You know, I've had snippy remarks from an artist I know (-not- a
: friend) that thin models are 'better' because they're 'harder to draw.'
: Then again, this person was somewhat less fat-accepting than Ardrool.
: Miche
Maybe harder for him/her because he/she is a no-talent?
Sandra
(being snide as hell, yea, and don't care
cause one of my favorite actors died this
weekend, so stick it if you don't like it.)
: --------------------
Dee
In article <redcage-1406...@iits01160.inlink.com>,
red...@inlink.com (Chris and Lynn Cage) wrote:
=> Well, I think I found a forum (ssfa) to resurect the idea. What do
=> y'all think? I am not talented enough in any visual medium to do the
=> work myself. But I think it is a fabulous idea (if I say so myslef)
=> and have decided, when I have that "extra" cash around, to commission
=> a fat positive portrait of myself (the medium doesn't matter much to
=> me).
=>
=> I would really like to hear other's reactions and ideas regarding
=> this.
=>
=
=Please keep me posted - I don't have a lot of time to write at this point,
=but I would be interested in keeping in touch with this group.
=
=I am a professional artist (painter/mixed media), and body issues are
=something that I have been interested for a while. This is not a new area
=for artists - body issues have been explored for many years and there is a
=lot "out there" to see. But a specialized group of creative people who are
=intested in the body as subject matter seems like a fresh idea.
I missed the original post, but I'm interested too. I'm an amateur, but
I've done some drawings and photography that have been helpful in
understanding and appreciating my body.
Positive images of big people seem to have a powerful effect on me, and
I've got to assume they do the same for a lot of other people. I think
this is a great idea.
-Dee
Mary Ker
When I was in art school in the early 70's, our favorite model was a 50-ish
woman who was pretty large. She was wonderful to draw--all those curves
and dimples. And she could hold what looked like impossible poses for
up to 45 minutes without moving a muscle. An d tough! We'd see her on
weekends whizzing around behind guys on their Harleys--a biker babe on
top of it all. I still remember some of the drawings I did of her, and the
pictures of the skinny folk have totally faded from memory.....
Sandra Doyle
Mary Ker (m...@yogi.tuc.noao.edu) wrote:
: When I was in art school in the early 70's, our favorite model was a 50-ish
Last week we had a new model, he was about 45-50 and although
not skinny and "built", he was not exactly what I would call fat.
More like simply overweight, but not terribly so. Anyway, after
one sitting, he made the rounds and looked at everybody's work.
"All I see is 'Jenny Craig'" he said. I told him to remember that
we were all beginners and that we were not making our images
precisely as he looked. For instance, my drawing had him looking
much heavier than he actually was.
I found myself liking him more than the other models we've had,
as he had some amasing poses and his muscle contours were terrific
Sandra
penomee
> I am a professional artist (painter/mixed media), and body issues are
>
> diseased cells. As disturbing as in sounds, the images (that I used as a
> resource) we're very beautiful and soothing and almost looking like
> landscapes.
>
> I am also a large person and have a strong interest in "fat issues" as a
> sociological situation. Having a group to share these toughts visually
> would be great. I would love to share work over the web. Lets keep in
> touch!
I would love to be part of a fat positive artists' discussion and
support group.
Kari Ann
pen...@value.net
Please visit my web site at
<http://pwp.value.net/penomee/penomee.html>. Enjoy my plays,
art work and... a fantastic low-fat lasagna recipe!
Please view my equine art at
><http://www.awhitehorse.com/artists/penomee/>
Please access "Victory," my play abut Islam, Inquisition and
resistance, at "The Well," a new magazine at <
http://punkt.base.org>
David Lindsay
Mary Kay Kare (ka...@sirius.com) wrote:
: In article <Pine.GSO.3.95.97061...@oso.slonet.org>, Ev
: <emorgan@you've.got.to.be.kidding> wrote:
: > At that time, I thought a lot about doing something similar with fat
: > women and men. My original idea was a photo essay on stretch marks.
: > The beautiful natural patterns our skin makes. I ran the idea by a
: > friend who (I forgot this fact when I asked her) is very anti-fat. She
: > thought it was a terrible idea, and I never persued the idea any
: > further.
: There is a book of pictures of BBW called Women En Large. Photos by
: Laurie Edison, text by Debbie NOtkin.
: MK
: Mary Kay Kare
: Compuserve's Team SF/F
There is also a book called Big Beautiful Doll by Stella Reichmann
and a Book called Fat Is a Feminist Issue by Suzy Orbach *** this is for
the friend who is very Anti-fat ... There are a number of books mentioned
a few years ago in the NAAFA newsletter ... as well some of the titles
may be out-of-print ... check at your local library .. they may find the
books on inter-library loan service ...
David