The naked truth about Los Angeles
Jill
Steve Chapman
August 6, 2001
The naked truth about Los Angeles
In Southern California, home of the Playboy mansion, Frederick's of
Hollywood and the video pornography industry, locals are currently
taken aback by a work of art that offends their standards of modesty.
A depiction of male nudes in the granite floor of the American
Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport has caused
shock and anger among Angelenos accustomed to the puritanical
standards of dress that prevail throughout the region.
Susan Narduli may become famous as the woman who put the X in LAX. In
reality, the photographs she sand-blasted into the black granite floor
of the world's third-busiest airport would barely qualify as PG. They
consist of several life-size images of athletic-looking nude men, with
shadows and body positioning deftly used to conceal their vital parts.
Narduli says she was merely trying to evoke the nobility of early
man's efforts to fly, not "to do something provocative or
controversial."
Her creation was not too provocative for those avant-garde rebels in
the executive suite at American Airlines. "We worked with the artist,
and we're fully supportive of it," said George Hazy, the company's
managing director. Maybe they're just trying to distract their
customers from the wearisome indignities of modern air travel. But the
city airport agency concluded that innocents passing through the
building might faint dead away at the brazen display of bare flesh.
"We are a public place, and we have an obligation not to offend
people," one official said. "What I really care about is what my
father thinks, or my niece thinks, or the Amish couple from Des Moines
thinks." One complainer wrote, "Aren't there much more beautiful and
acceptable things to be admired, especially by children who have to
walk over and past this stuff?"
On behalf of children and Amish couples, the airport hastily covered
the pictures with brown paper. But last week, the city's Cultural
Affairs Commission ruled that the piece would remain where it is, sans
covering. So outsiders should enter the terminal braced for what they
will encounter.
Of course, Iowa farmers may actually grasp that an unclothed human
figure can be a legitimate subject of art, as it happens to have been
for more than 2,500 years. They might know that nudes appear in many
thoroughly Christian places, starting with the Sistine Chapel, and
countless paintings of biblical subjects.
Some can be found in various public sites around the world, where they
can be gazed on by youngsters and everyone else. In Des Moines, an
array of naked people is immortalized in works on exhibit at the Art
Center. And would you believe that director Susan Talbott says she
frequently sees Amish patrons?
Maybe they know what art historian Kenneth Clark pointed out: "The
nude is the most serious of all subjects in art." His answer to the
question of whether there aren't "more beautiful and acceptable things
to be admired" would probably be the same as the ancient Greeks,
Michelangelo and Renoir would have given: No, there isn't.
Why would an artist insist on portraying a naked person when she could
portray a modestly attired one? Not usually out of a desire to evoke
lust, but because there is something elemental, timeless and classic
about the nude form. Artists also realize the undeniable fact that the
human body is a subject of great interest to anyone who has one.
For some subjects, nudity is not just appropriate but mandatory.
Michelangelo's "David" -- that's King David, of Israel -- would not be
the same wrapped in a loincloth. Narduli's men would lose something if
they were wearing togas.
Southern California is not alone in having some residents who doubt
that nakedness can ever be aesthetically valuable. After a shopowner
in Lake Alfred, Fla., placed a replica of "David" outside his store,
the city demanded that he cover its nether regions. Complaints from
workers at Kennedy International Airport in New York prompted an
artist to paint a loincloth on her depiction of a nude Jesus on the
cross.
After the State Bar of Wisconsin decided to adorn its Madison
headquarters with a classical sculpture of a woman holding the scales
of justice, with her eyes covered but her breasts bare, a handful of
employees expressed discomfort. So the artist was brought back in to
put some clothes on the hussy. There are people out there upholding
the crucial principle that the uncovered human form should evoke shame
rather than pleasure.
But in Los Angeles, where Victorian values are under unprecedented
assault, sensitive travelers may see things they might not see just
anywhere. So they should take the advice that has always been prudent
for anyone journeying to California: If you're easily shocked, close
your eyes.
©2001 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Deborah Terreson
Arts is a Stupid Move."
The very fact that this is an issue, tells more about what is happening to
this culture than almost anything. Would the Good citizens of L.A. have
preferred the corporate sanitized pap the likes of Mickey Mouse and Bugs
Bunny? Probably. It's waaaay safer, and we cannot challenge *anyone* now can
we?
Artistic ignorance pisses me off.
Deb.
----------
In article <3b6f0c14...@news.earthlink.net>, perspic...@yahoo.com
Jill
<fooda...@mediaone.net> sent through the ether:
>I think this one should be subtitled "Why Cutting Public Funding for the
>Arts is a Stupid Move."
>
>The very fact that this is an issue, tells more about what is happening to
>this culture than almost anything. Would the Good citizens of L.A. have
>preferred the corporate sanitized pap the likes of Mickey Mouse and Bugs
>Bunny? Probably. It's waaaay safer, and we cannot challenge *anyone* now can
>we?
>
>Artistic ignorance pisses me off.
>
>Deb.
Me too. <Mange impersonation off>
Seriously, I do agree with what you are saying, Deb. However, I
thought the article was insinuating that naked men were the problem
until I got to the end where it mentioned the statue of "Justice" in
Wisconsin and how the artist had to be called back to cover her bare
breasts. This wasn't at an airport or even a courthouse but the
offices of the Wisc. Bar Assoc. Few of the public probably ever visit
their offices in Madison, WI. Still a handful of employees (women no
doubt) objected to an artistically accurate representation of
"Justice." Everything is going totally out of control or at least
that's the way I'm perceiving it lately.
Jill
goddess
"Jill" <perspic...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3b6f2d84...@news.earthlink.net...
> On Mon, 06 Aug 2001 23:28:22 GMT, "Deborah Terreson"
> <fooda...@mediaone.net> sent through the ether:
>
> >I think this one should be subtitled "Why Cutting Public Funding for the
> >Arts is a Stupid Move."
> >
> >The very fact that this is an issue, tells more about what is happening
to
> >this culture than almost anything. Would the Good citizens of L.A. have
> >preferred the corporate sanitized pap the likes of Mickey Mouse and Bugs
> >Bunny? Probably. It's waaaay safer, and we cannot challenge *anyone* now
can
> >we?
> >
> >Artistic ignorance pisses me off.
> >
> >Deb.
>
> Me too. <Mange impersonation off>
Thanks hon! Impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery. :-) I would
also like to add a me too to Deb's post (but it won't be take quite as
nicely as yours, I'm sure.) :-)
> Seriously, I do agree with what you are saying, Deb. However, I
> thought the article was insinuating that naked men were the problem
> until I got to the end where it mentioned the statue of "Justice" in
> Wisconsin and how the artist had to be called back to cover her bare
> breasts. This wasn't at an airport or even a courthouse but the
> offices of the Wisc. Bar Assoc. Few of the public probably ever visit
> their offices in Madison, WI. Still a handful of employees (women no
> doubt) objected to an artistically accurate representation of
> "Justice." Everything is going totally out of control or at least
> that's the way I'm perceiving it lately.
It sounds to me like a bunch of prudes are coming out of the woodwork. I'm
surprised that you're not with them.
Marg
Jill
sent through the ether:
>On Mon, 6 Aug 2001 20:05:32 -0700, "goddess" <god...@peak.org> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Jill" <perspic...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>news:3b6f2d84...@news.earthlink.net...
>>> On Mon, 06 Aug 2001 23:28:22 GMT, "Deborah Terreson"
>>> <fooda...@mediaone.net> sent through the ether:
>>>
>>> >I think this one should be subtitled "Why Cutting Public Funding for the
>>> >Arts is a Stupid Move."
>>> >
>>> >The very fact that this is an issue, tells more about what is happening
>>to
>>> >this culture than almost anything. Would the Good citizens of L.A. have
>>> >preferred the corporate sanitized pap the likes of Mickey Mouse and Bugs
>>> >Bunny? Probably. It's waaaay safer, and we cannot challenge *anyone* now
>>can
>>> >we?
>>> >
>>> >Artistic ignorance pisses me off.
>>> >
>>> >Deb.
>>>
>>> Me too. <Mange impersonation off>
>>
>>Thanks hon! Impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery. :-) I would
>>also like to add a me too to Deb's post (but it won't be take quite as
>>nicely as yours, I'm sure.) :-)
>
>'Marg'/"goddess" has _nothing_ to feel 'flattered' about. Ever. :-)
>Unless it is in the way your mindless, synchophantic utterances for
>anything that is destructive to men and those in support of men are
>recognized.
Hi Joe,
I'm not reading The Mange's stuff at this time. I'm doing a lot of
lawn and garden work and I don't need more exposure to fertilizer.
However, from reading your posts, I notice that she seems to be
following me around again like a lovesick dog. Hardly flattering to
me or dogs.
As for me flattering her...she's been told before as has Parg. I'm
not a lesbian. They'll simply have to get over their attraction to
me.
Jill
>>
>>
>>> Seriously, I do agree with what you are saying, Deb. However, I
>>> thought the article was insinuating that naked men were the problem
>>> until I got to the end where it mentioned the statue of "Justice" in
>>> Wisconsin and how the artist had to be called back to cover her bare
>>> breasts. This wasn't at an airport or even a courthouse but the
>>> offices of the Wisc. Bar Assoc. Few of the public probably ever visit
>>> their offices in Madison, WI. Still a handful of employees (women no
>>> doubt) objected to an artistically accurate representation of
>>> "Justice." Everything is going totally out of control or at least
>>> that's the way I'm perceiving it lately.
>>
>>It sounds to me like a bunch of prudes are coming out of the woodwork. I'm
>>surprised that you're not with them.
>
>'Marg'/"goddess is a 'prude' of the highest order where it concerns
>'men'. And the direct opposite where it concerns 'women'. An
>'unbalanced' mind so immersed in hatred, as to render all of
>'Marg'/"goddess value judgements void.
>
>joe d
Marg Petersen
Of course you're not. Hehehehehe.
I'm doing a lot of
>lawn and garden work and I don't need more exposure to fertilizer.
Well then, I would suggest that you hire someone else to do
your yard work.
>However, from reading your posts, I notice that she seems to be
>following me around again like a lovesick dog. Hardly flattering to
>me or dogs.
Poor jillsiepoops. Anything to make herself feel better.
>As for me flattering her...she's been told before as has Parg. I'm
>not a lesbian. They'll simply have to get over their attraction to
>me.
Dahling, I wouldn't be interested in YOU even if you turned into
a man. Your ego is showing, again. Go back to what you do best,
throw fertilizer around.
Marg
--
The Quest is everything!