Nudes on the Wall? Issue or not?
January 12, 2011 7:30 PM Subscribe
Would Tasteful Nude Photo/Canvasses In a Bedroom Freak You Out?
I've moved into a new place that I love and am now in the process of putting out my art. I've got a pretty good collection. I want to put up some of the nudes in my bedroom. There is a good mix - drawings of me with men and women while modeling art classes, drawings and photographs of 3 female friends (2 who have passed away), black and whites of older women, nude photo's of me (androgynous looking and frontal) and some others.
My question is if I have a woman over will she freak out or be offended. I am comfortable with my body, love women and the female form. The prints of the friends who have passed away mean a lot to me. How would some of the female Me-Fite's respond to this.
I've moved into a new place that I love and am now in the process of putting out my art. I've got a pretty good collection. I want to put up some of the nudes in my bedroom. There is a good mix - drawings of me with men and women while modeling art classes, drawings and photographs of 3 female friends (2 who have passed away), black and whites of older women, nude photo's of me (androgynous looking and frontal) and some others.
My question is if I have a woman over will she freak out or be offended. I am comfortable with my body, love women and the female form. The prints of the friends who have passed away mean a lot to me. How would some of the female Me-Fite's respond to this.
Best answer: I don't know that I'd be offended, because I love the naked body quite a whole lot, be it as a tasteful nude or in hardcore pornography, but I feel like I'd definitely be squicked out a little by the photographs. The drawings? Not as much. I can't really explain why the photography would get a separate distinction, but there you go.
posted by patronuscharms at 7:33 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by patronuscharms at 7:33 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Total strangers in art wouldn't bother me, but you? Without or with others, I think it's a bit creepy. I mean, if I'm in your bedroom, chances are good that I'll see you in the flesh. More seems like advertising and not in a good way.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:35 PM on January 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 7:35 PM on January 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
Yeah, it's not sounding good to me, either. Maybe put them all in the room you use as an art studio or office? The only way I would like these if they were very, very tasteful and real art -- like, Edward Weston-level art. Anything lesser and you run a real risk of coming off cheesy.
(You could scan the images to show them to us and we could perhaps make a better assessment.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:36 PM on January 12, 2011
(You could scan the images to show them to us and we could perhaps make a better assessment.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:36 PM on January 12, 2011
I'm guessing it is going to depend on how well they know you and the extent of the relationship when they encounter your artwork.
You'll want to avoid the 'come up and see my prints' line...
posted by HuronBob at 7:36 PM on January 12, 2011
You'll want to avoid the 'come up and see my prints' line...
posted by HuronBob at 7:36 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: These belong in a portfolio, tastefully done, somewhere under your nightstand or on a table, where they can be discovered by the curious; they should NOT be hung on your wall.
A nude print of a a famous person or an anonymous person you never knew? Perhaps one large one.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 7:38 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
A nude print of a a famous person or an anonymous person you never knew? Perhaps one large one.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 7:38 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
It depends how good the art is. Egon Schiele? No problem. Actually kind of hot. Something you'd find here? Bye.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:39 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by oinopaponton at 7:39 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: My question is if I have a woman over will she freak out or be offended.
I'll answer this question narrowly so we don't get into survey territory. I think there's a fairly low chance that if a woman has gotten to the point with you where she is entering your bedroom, that she would be offended by seeing nudes in there. There is probably a small minority of women who still would be offended, but I think you can suss out her attitudes toward nude art/the body/sexuality enough by that point so it's not a total surprise. I think the bigger problem might not be that the women are offended, but might be simply turned off. If the woman you have over thinks the piece of art is ugly or the subject is unattractive, it could be a big distraction. Also, if the living friend who is featured in one of the pieces is an ex, that could be a problem too.
posted by Ashley801 at 7:39 PM on January 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
I'll answer this question narrowly so we don't get into survey territory. I think there's a fairly low chance that if a woman has gotten to the point with you where she is entering your bedroom, that she would be offended by seeing nudes in there. There is probably a small minority of women who still would be offended, but I think you can suss out her attitudes toward nude art/the body/sexuality enough by that point so it's not a total surprise. I think the bigger problem might not be that the women are offended, but might be simply turned off. If the woman you have over thinks the piece of art is ugly or the subject is unattractive, it could be a big distraction. Also, if the living friend who is featured in one of the pieces is an ex, that could be a problem too.
posted by Ashley801 at 7:39 PM on January 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
In the bedroom it would freak me out. Especially naked photos of you, but also naked photos of other women. Especially the dead friends, because it would be hard not to imagine that you were jerking off to naked photos of your dead friends. Actually, I would probably imagine that you might be jerking off to naked photos of yourself, too.
In the living room, they're art, full stop. In the bedroom, the idea that they might be porn flickers into my consciousness. That might be prudish of me (and I've done plenty of life modeling myself, so I'm not talking from a position of radical body shame) but it's how I feel.
The whole "I love 'the female form'" thing tends to ick many women, self included. It feels objectifying. Nudes in art are great. Human bodies are great. Somehow mushing the two together feels icky to me.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:40 PM on January 12, 2011 [15 favorites]
In the living room, they're art, full stop. In the bedroom, the idea that they might be porn flickers into my consciousness. That might be prudish of me (and I've done plenty of life modeling myself, so I'm not talking from a position of radical body shame) but it's how I feel.
The whole "I love 'the female form'" thing tends to ick many women, self included. It feels objectifying. Nudes in art are great. Human bodies are great. Somehow mushing the two together feels icky to me.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:40 PM on January 12, 2011 [15 favorites]
Response by poster: Good points. FWIW my face is never seen. Hell, it was it would freak me out.
posted by goalyeehah at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by goalyeehah at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: Apparently you need to be trying to seduce ladies like me, as I've absolutely no problem with this. It's nothing I'd find unusual at all.
Then again, I'm likely an outlier, as I sent a friend a text the other day gushing about the gorgeousness of her porn star boyfriend's thighs. She was, for the record, amused and delighted.
posted by mollymayhem at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
Then again, I'm likely an outlier, as I sent a friend a text the other day gushing about the gorgeousness of her porn star boyfriend's thighs. She was, for the record, amused and delighted.
posted by mollymayhem at 7:42 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
The whole "I love 'the female form'" thing tends to ick many women, self included. It feels objectifying
This.
posted by Lobster Garden at 7:43 PM on January 12, 2011 [12 favorites]
This.
posted by Lobster Garden at 7:43 PM on January 12, 2011 [12 favorites]
Best answer: once i had a friend who wanted to get a super nerdy tattoo, but was worried that it would turn women off or that they would think was too nerdy or something and thus shrink his dating pool. i told him something that i think applies here - anyone you're interested in for real wouldn't have a problem with it and if they do, they aren't the person for you.
as a data point - there's a nude painting done by my husband's ex (supposedly of her, but the veracity of that claim seems to be in question) that hangs above our fireplace in our living room. it's a beautiful and interesting piece and i'd be pissed if he ever took it down.
posted by nadawi at 7:44 PM on January 12, 2011
as a data point - there's a nude painting done by my husband's ex (supposedly of her, but the veracity of that claim seems to be in question) that hangs above our fireplace in our living room. it's a beautiful and interesting piece and i'd be pissed if he ever took it down.
posted by nadawi at 7:44 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: Why would you invite women who freak out about this thing into your bedroom? It's your bedroom, and the people you invite back there should be comfortable with who you are.
I think if you had these prints up in your living room it would be a little weird, but the bedroom is a private place.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:45 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think if you had these prints up in your living room it would be a little weird, but the bedroom is a private place.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:45 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Well, Sidhedevil. I don't. And how do you suggest I say it where it isn't objectifying. I'm serious.
posted by goalyeehah at 7:45 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by goalyeehah at 7:45 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: Well, Sidhedevil. I don't. And how do you suggest I say it where it isn't objectifying. I'm serious.
Not to speak for Sidhedevil whatsoever, but I think some people think, well, if you're just into nude art for art's sake, why would you only be into female nudes? If your interest is at least partly that you find the art erotic, why not be open about that, instead of couching it as "appreciating the female form." It seems a little dishonest.
posted by Ashley801 at 7:49 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Not to speak for Sidhedevil whatsoever, but I think some people think, well, if you're just into nude art for art's sake, why would you only be into female nudes? If your interest is at least partly that you find the art erotic, why not be open about that, instead of couching it as "appreciating the female form." It seems a little dishonest.
posted by Ashley801 at 7:49 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
And, it just occurred to me! I live in a studio apartment, and I've got easily 2 dozen b&w nude photo postcards up on either side of a door. It's something that guests have nearly always commented on positively. They're mostly solo shots, mixed genders, nothing overtly porny. They make me smile.
posted by mollymayhem at 7:50 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mollymayhem at 7:50 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Hmm, I must have spent too much time in artist's studios, because this wouldn't bother me at all.
I guess maybe it would if you didn't have any other decoration in the rest of your house except your flat screen and a PS3, and then a bunch of naked people in the bedroom. But if your whole house is carefully considered as far as aesthetic decor goes, it wouldn't seem out of place.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:50 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
I guess maybe it would if you didn't have any other decoration in the rest of your house except your flat screen and a PS3, and then a bunch of naked people in the bedroom. But if your whole house is carefully considered as far as aesthetic decor goes, it wouldn't seem out of place.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:50 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Yeah, I actually think the one larger nude somewhere else would be better. The nude art I've seen in people's homes does make me pause and feel funny for a split second, which I instantaneously override because it's hung in the corner of the rarely-used living room, so of course it's not Whatever. A huge one over the mantle or a whole collection might make me wonder what it means.
Now, if you majored in postmodern thought, queer studies, or art; if you run a magazine about transgenderism; if you have a great story about overcoming a body image or fear of sex issue; if you're a mastectomy survivor; if you're a massage therapist; if you are the next David Cronenberg -- if in any way I already knew that sexuality or physicality is a big thing in your life or could quickly imagine why your physical environment is an homage to the nude human body, it's all good. If I don't yet know, I will wonder, and possibly imagine something that would freak myself out.
posted by salvia at 7:53 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now, if you majored in postmodern thought, queer studies, or art; if you run a magazine about transgenderism; if you have a great story about overcoming a body image or fear of sex issue; if you're a mastectomy survivor; if you're a massage therapist; if you are the next David Cronenberg -- if in any way I already knew that sexuality or physicality is a big thing in your life or could quickly imagine why your physical environment is an homage to the nude human body, it's all good. If I don't yet know, I will wonder, and possibly imagine something that would freak myself out.
posted by salvia at 7:53 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Why confine the pieces to the bedroom? I think that's what makes it feel cheesy. You have a woman over, she's admiring the painting of a vase of flowers here, the landscape photograph there, the abstract watercolor over there, the architectural sketch here, and then Oh Wink Wink Nudge Nudge Hello There! she wanders by the bedroom, glances in, and sees 10 giant framed pics of nude people. Like you're hiding it because it's skeezy or because it's there as a turn-on. If it is, there you go. If it's not, put it all over your place and don't make it seem so calculated an effect. As an aside, this is really hard to say without seeing the pieces.
posted by iconomy at 7:55 PM on January 12, 2011 [18 favorites]
posted by iconomy at 7:55 PM on January 12, 2011 [18 favorites]
This wouldn't bother me, assuming they feel artist, and not porny. Of course, that distinction may be in the eye of the beholder ...
posted by rosa at 7:57 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by rosa at 7:57 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: Naked pictures of you. Nope. Of your friends, sure, but one or two tops.
posted by darkgroove at 8:01 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by darkgroove at 8:01 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Assuming that you have art throughout the house, and it sounds like you do, I think that nudes in the bedroom sounds sort of awesome--especially if they're people you've known who meant a lot to you.
I don't think that this is the sort of thing that you're going to be able to reach a consensus on, really. The way people react to nude imagery is very personal and often unpredictable--as this thread makes clear, what feels objectifying to one person can feel empowering to another--freaky and beautiful don't seem to be too far apart on the spectrum, you know?
These prints are important to you. Put them out. If someone has a problem with that, then that someone probably isn't anyone you'd want to be involved with long-term anyhow.
posted by MeghanC at 8:01 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
I don't think that this is the sort of thing that you're going to be able to reach a consensus on, really. The way people react to nude imagery is very personal and often unpredictable--as this thread makes clear, what feels objectifying to one person can feel empowering to another--freaky and beautiful don't seem to be too far apart on the spectrum, you know?
These prints are important to you. Put them out. If someone has a problem with that, then that someone probably isn't anyone you'd want to be involved with long-term anyhow.
posted by MeghanC at 8:01 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks Ashley801. My writing that phrase didn't feel right.
Oneirodynia, the house is carefully considered regarding aesthetic. Like I said I have a large collection. We are going through each room one at a time
posted by goalyeehah at 8:02 PM on January 12, 2011
Oneirodynia, the house is carefully considered regarding aesthetic. Like I said I have a large collection. We are going through each room one at a time
posted by goalyeehah at 8:02 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: "I like nudes in art" is a statement about aesthetics. "I love the female form" is a statement about aesthetics that refers to actual human beings, which is why it feels objectifying to many women.
The thing is that when you make a statement like that, you're not just paying your own check, you're paying the check of thousands of years of shit other people have said. Better just to avoid it; if you like nudes in art, presumably you find lots of bodies of people of all genders attractive. If you are a heterosexual man, presumably you find women's bodies sexually attractive. Why make an aesthetic statement about it? It's kind of distancing, and it also sounds like you're claiming special status for something that is common to billions of your fellow humans.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:02 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
The thing is that when you make a statement like that, you're not just paying your own check, you're paying the check of thousands of years of shit other people have said. Better just to avoid it; if you like nudes in art, presumably you find lots of bodies of people of all genders attractive. If you are a heterosexual man, presumably you find women's bodies sexually attractive. Why make an aesthetic statement about it? It's kind of distancing, and it also sounds like you're claiming special status for something that is common to billions of your fellow humans.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:02 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
My dad has a nude (tasteful, non-sexual) in his bedroom. I think it's semi-weird. Not in a sexual way, but just in a "wow, my dad is super awkward" way. If I were my step-mother I'd have mocked him about it and told him to get rid of it. But it's still there. So whatever.
I think it would be better not in the bedroom. Ideally it should be high art, not a pinup or anything that could be confused for one.
Having a lot of nudes throughout your home would also be extremely creepy.
I think you could have one. It should probably not be of yourself. Nude photos of (recognizable) friends are also sort of weird - but if it were a drawing and the person in the piece wouldn't be immediately recognizable to your guests, then sure.
For some reason I am more OK with nudes being displayed in the bathroom. Maybe because it's a place where we take our clothes off in a non-sexual manner?
posted by Sara C. at 8:04 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
I think it would be better not in the bedroom. Ideally it should be high art, not a pinup or anything that could be confused for one.
Having a lot of nudes throughout your home would also be extremely creepy.
I think you could have one. It should probably not be of yourself. Nude photos of (recognizable) friends are also sort of weird - but if it were a drawing and the person in the piece wouldn't be immediately recognizable to your guests, then sure.
For some reason I am more OK with nudes being displayed in the bathroom. Maybe because it's a place where we take our clothes off in a non-sexual manner?
posted by Sara C. at 8:04 PM on January 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
I dunno... I'm no prude, but I think if I walked into a guy's bedroom for the first time and there were artistic nudes all over the walls, I'd feel like I'd gone home with the Love Master, Master of Love. And not in a good way.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:04 PM on January 12, 2011 [15 favorites]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:04 PM on January 12, 2011 [15 favorites]
Best answer: I would find this fine. I am totally startled to come in here and find so many others would have issues with this.
Perhaps they are getting a very different mental image from your description? I don't know.
I had a painting of a nude female in various apartments for about a decade, sometimes in my bedroom; it did not excite any comment or squicked-outness that I am aware of. It did not occur to me until now to think about it as hinting at something sexual. Just art.
posted by kmennie at 8:07 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Perhaps they are getting a very different mental image from your description? I don't know.
I had a painting of a nude female in various apartments for about a decade, sometimes in my bedroom; it did not excite any comment or squicked-outness that I am aware of. It did not occur to me until now to think about it as hinting at something sexual. Just art.
posted by kmennie at 8:07 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also, if the living friend who is featured in one of the pieces is an ex, that could be a problem too.
For me, it would be an even bigger problem if someone had a nude of an ex who had died on his bedroom wall. On the livingroom wall, I could cope if it had other artistic merit (I mean, if it was a photo so lovely that you would want to hang it if it were of a complete stranger), but in the bedroom I would always feel like she was watching.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:09 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
For me, it would be an even bigger problem if someone had a nude of an ex who had died on his bedroom wall. On the livingroom wall, I could cope if it had other artistic merit (I mean, if it was a photo so lovely that you would want to hang it if it were of a complete stranger), but in the bedroom I would always feel like she was watching.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:09 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
kmennie, I think paintings and photographs are a little different, and depictions of strangers vs. depictions of people known to the owner (not to mention depictions of the owner) are different, and one is different from many.
We have a nude in our living room and one in our kitchen and one in our stairwell, but none of them are people we know. (Though I do know someone who has two nudes of me in her stairwell, but she doesn't know they're me and I haven't told her.)
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:11 PM on January 12, 2011
We have a nude in our living room and one in our kitchen and one in our stairwell, but none of them are people we know. (Though I do know someone who has two nudes of me in her stairwell, but she doesn't know they're me and I haven't told her.)
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:11 PM on January 12, 2011
Survey reply: Depends on if they're grouped well or not. I like art, I've drawn at life modelling classes, and I like to take photos. I have no problems with nudes. My (Fine Arts Scholar) daughter has nude self portraits on her wall (black & red prints on paper bags). But if they're scattered all over, without any thought to how they connect, with unsympathetic frames, or lack of any alignment, I'm going to think they're there just because you like to whack off to them.
/Pick you up at 7?
posted by b33j at 8:13 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
/Pick you up at 7?
posted by b33j at 8:13 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I agree with nadawi that a woman who'd object is probably not the woman for you. However, I do have a suggestion as to their placement: if possible, I'd place these pieces of art neither over the head of the bed nor on the wall directly opposite. If the art is on the side walls, it will be less likely to seem either emblematic (as art over the head of a bed often seems to be) or to seem placed specifically to be looked at by those sharing your bed.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:16 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by ocherdraco at 8:16 PM on January 12, 2011
Response by poster: I really only want to put up one or two in bedroom. One is up in the living room. I was raised Catholic, read a lot of feminist theory recovering from sexual abuse in the early 90's and am a healer and yoga teacher.
posted by goalyeehah at 8:18 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by goalyeehah at 8:18 PM on January 12, 2011
By the way, goalyeehah, I am somewhat embarrassed that my hypothetical self went to such a judgey and "is he whacking off to those photos?" place, but I thought it would be helpful for me to share my thoughts and their limitations.
Even though I've been on both sides of the easel in life modeling classes and been a standardized patient, and even though I have nudes on my own wall, and even though I am a proselyte of sex positivity and openness, I still had those reactions. Which, yeah, surprised me a bit, but there you are.
Anyway, I hope I did not offend with my stream of consciousness.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:20 PM on January 12, 2011
Even though I've been on both sides of the easel in life modeling classes and been a standardized patient, and even though I have nudes on my own wall, and even though I am a proselyte of sex positivity and openness, I still had those reactions. Which, yeah, surprised me a bit, but there you are.
Anyway, I hope I did not offend with my stream of consciousness.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:20 PM on January 12, 2011
My sister has a few nudes in her living room and people always laugh when she tells them [truthfully] that one of them is her grandmother. If you've got a bunch of nudes in your bedroom, I wouldn't have much of an issue but if I found out at some point later that some of them were your exes and I hadn't known, that might feel weird. Really if this is your thing and inside and outside the bedroom you're a person with art on their walls, great. I had a friend growing up whose parents had a large female nude photo over their bed and we always thought it was sort of strange. So I'd think if it was a "hey this is my art" thing, super. If it was a "hey I think these are some hot ladies" situation, less interesting to me personally, but maybe that's just saying "bad fit"
posted by jessamyn at 8:25 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by jessamyn at 8:25 PM on January 12, 2011
54 year old art-loving grandmother here, I wouldn't have any problem with it. And am very surprised at the number of us here that would.
posted by raisingsand at 8:26 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by raisingsand at 8:26 PM on January 12, 2011
Response by poster: No problem, Sidhedevil! Thanks for clarifying.
posted by goalyeehah at 8:27 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by goalyeehah at 8:27 PM on January 12, 2011
Best answer: If I visited someone who had hung nude drawings of himself (headless or not), I'd think the guy was a bit self-obsessed.
I'll leave the questions of nude women to others. Have no problem with it myself, but I acknowledge (from experience) it can be awkward deciding where one should hang such art. A gallery is so different from a home.
But don't hang drawings of yourself. That's just weird. Why do you want your own body on your bedroom wall?
posted by torticat at 8:28 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'll leave the questions of nude women to others. Have no problem with it myself, but I acknowledge (from experience) it can be awkward deciding where one should hang such art. A gallery is so different from a home.
But don't hang drawings of yourself. That's just weird. Why do you want your own body on your bedroom wall?
posted by torticat at 8:28 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yeah, I think maybe some of the problem is that if you have a lot of representations of the same basic item in a single space, it turns into the "whatever room" - the tree room, the balloon room, the Elvis room, the nude room. And having a nude-chick bedroom is going to seem pervy, even if it's born of an appreciation of the female form as disinterested as an aesthetic yen for desert landscape or crystallographic art, especially if you've carefully distributed and balanced the art in the rest of your house.
But I have the design sense of a dead geranium, so maybe don't take me too seriously.
posted by gingerest at 8:31 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
But I have the design sense of a dead geranium, so maybe don't take me too seriously.
posted by gingerest at 8:31 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
To clarify, I say "creepy" not in the sense that I'd be offended, or in a prudish sense. I'd probably feel the same way that I felt when I slept with someone on the first date and they presented me with their extra toothbrush they keep around for this situation. Like, really, you sleep with so many women you keep an extra toothbrush around, just in case? Ew.
Slimy, I guess.
posted by Sara C. at 8:36 PM on January 12, 2011
Slimy, I guess.
posted by Sara C. at 8:36 PM on January 12, 2011
If it makes you happy, do it. Bonus points if it looks something like this.
posted by therewolf at 8:37 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by therewolf at 8:37 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I personally would have no problems with one or two, whether it was you or your ex or your grandmother (provided they were well executed). I think, maybe, it might even be a reasonable filter - any woman who is disgusted by it is probably someone who's values are not a good match for yours.
posted by b33j at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by b33j at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had a job cleaning houses in college and you'd be amazed at how many people have nude pictures of themselves in their bedrooms. You'd also be amazed at how much fun we made of them.
I don't have a problem with nudes on people's walls. Hell, my grandparents had a print of a woman naked from the waist up hanging in their bathroom for years (my brother and I are currently fighting over who gets it, now that my grandfather is gone). But when it's obviously a picture of you, the homeowner--ick. Self-love and body confidence is awesome, but don't let it seep into your decorating decisions.
posted by Fuego at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2011
I don't have a problem with nudes on people's walls. Hell, my grandparents had a print of a woman naked from the waist up hanging in their bathroom for years (my brother and I are currently fighting over who gets it, now that my grandfather is gone). But when it's obviously a picture of you, the homeowner--ick. Self-love and body confidence is awesome, but don't let it seep into your decorating decisions.
posted by Fuego at 8:38 PM on January 12, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks gang! I appreciate the insights.
posted by goalyeehah at 8:42 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by goalyeehah at 8:42 PM on January 12, 2011
I can't see being bothered by nudity, really. The only time I might find it "objectifying" would be a nude figure without a head, because then it seems more anatomical than artistic. If you have a nude, it should be the whole person, I guess is what I am saying. But then, there are exceptions even there, like the Venus de Milo.
I'm honestly amazed by how many people here think nudes are creepy, or not appropriate. I don't think it's weird to have them in the bedroom, either, if you just generally hang out there a lot, though I'd have them all over the apartment if I had several, as you do.
Now, I personally would want nudes of *myself* to be more subtly displayed, just because it would maybe seem a bit self-absorbed or narcissistic otherwise. And pics of you nude with others--well, that would depend on the context. If it were some kind of daisy-chain sex scene, I'd assume you were advertising your swinger status, for example.
As for the works where the subjects have since died, I think I would just find those works especially poignant, rather than creepy in any way.
Data point: I have modeled for photographer in the past and have sketched nude models myself.
posted by misha at 9:09 PM on January 12, 2011
I'm honestly amazed by how many people here think nudes are creepy, or not appropriate. I don't think it's weird to have them in the bedroom, either, if you just generally hang out there a lot, though I'd have them all over the apartment if I had several, as you do.
Now, I personally would want nudes of *myself* to be more subtly displayed, just because it would maybe seem a bit self-absorbed or narcissistic otherwise. And pics of you nude with others--well, that would depend on the context. If it were some kind of daisy-chain sex scene, I'd assume you were advertising your swinger status, for example.
As for the works where the subjects have since died, I think I would just find those works especially poignant, rather than creepy in any way.
Data point: I have modeled for photographer in the past and have sketched nude models myself.
posted by misha at 9:09 PM on January 12, 2011
As a data point different from the above... I'm no prude, and I'd have no problem with nudes in general. Heck, even nudes of exes seem inevitable if one has artistic friends... but I would be a bit discomforted by those nudes of yourself that you mention. It's just a bit... narcissistic, maybe?
Unless you're Alex Rodriguez, of course, in which case hanging a nude of yourself as a satyr in your own bedroom would be totally freaking normal.
posted by rokusan at 9:29 PM on January 12, 2011
Unless you're Alex Rodriguez, of course, in which case hanging a nude of yourself as a satyr in your own bedroom would be totally freaking normal.
posted by rokusan at 9:29 PM on January 12, 2011
FWIW, my grandmother, an artist, used to hang (70s-era) pictures of nude women in both her upstairs and downstairs bathrooms.
She also had an oil painting of herself (clothed) in her room.
I think artists get to do these sorts of thing.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:50 PM on January 12, 2011
She also had an oil painting of herself (clothed) in her room.
I think artists get to do these sorts of thing.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:50 PM on January 12, 2011
Are they crotch shots? Are they of people fucking? Are the pictures large or small?
posted by mareli at 9:56 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by mareli at 9:56 PM on January 12, 2011
I wouldn't freak out or be offended, but having the nude pics/drawings dominate your bedroom decor would seem to be a statement. It would probably bug/annoy/baffle me as to what that statement was. I think I would assume you were expectantly waiting for me to say something and I would have no idea how to respond. (This would most likely distract me from the main reason we went in the bedroom...)
posted by sfkiddo at 10:05 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by sfkiddo at 10:05 PM on January 12, 2011
But if your whole house is carefully considered as far as aesthetic decor goes, it wouldn't seem out of place.
This.
posted by 5Q7 at 10:11 PM on January 12, 2011
This.
posted by 5Q7 at 10:11 PM on January 12, 2011
I had a print of this painting hung up over my bed for the last several years, and while some people certainly commented that they found it creepy, it didn't seem to interfere with my sexual/romantic life at all. As others have said, usually by the time someone is there it's because they want to be there, because of you. The right people don't care, the wrong people rarely make it that far.
posted by hermitosis at 10:38 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by hermitosis at 10:38 PM on January 12, 2011
Oh, maybe that image I grabbed is of another artist's reproduction of the Goya, which is sort of cheesy, and not what I have. But you get the idea.
posted by hermitosis at 10:41 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by hermitosis at 10:41 PM on January 12, 2011
You are a healer and a yoga teacher?
Let your freak flag fly, so to speak. Be it— be you—100%. And be prepared to talk about the images. The good ones will get it (you).
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:57 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Let your freak flag fly, so to speak. Be it— be you—100%. And be prepared to talk about the images. The good ones will get it (you).
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:57 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
I dated a guy once who had a painting of a "sexy" nun (who had her habit on but, oops, not much else!) in his bedroom (which was also his living room and dining room). So I wouldn't bat an eye, I guess. But some might.
posted by medeine at 10:59 PM on January 12, 2011
posted by medeine at 10:59 PM on January 12, 2011
I wouldn't be bothered by it, but it would tend to prejudice me toward thinking you're trying to make a statement about being some kind "suave international playboy" type. Like rather than being interested in having a relationship, you're just out to appreciate my female form or something. Not really the kind of guy I'd be into, but YMMV.
posted by aquafortis at 11:19 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by aquafortis at 11:19 PM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
A friend's husband is a general contractor. Last winter, he went to a potential client's house to do an appraisal for some renovations. In the bedroom, he noticed that the rather elderly woman had an enormous oil painting of herself, nude, hanging over the bed. The woman was in the room, so he tried to demonstrate that he didn't notice, directing his eyes to any surface but the painting.
His business partner, a younger guy, pointed at the painting and blurted out in a stage whisper, "HEY. HEY. I THINK THAT'S HER! I THINK THAT'S THE LADY WHO OWNS THIS HOUSE!"
...so if you're going to have a nude in the bedroom, do make sure that it depicts a subject other than yourself. It's the nude self-portrait that I personally would find weird. The photos of your friends probably wouldn't bother me as much, but I would likely never ask you to tell me about them. Since I wouldn't know that they were friends of yours, I'd probably just think you had photos of naked women hanging in your bedroom unless you told me otherwise.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 1:44 AM on January 13, 2011
His business partner, a younger guy, pointed at the painting and blurted out in a stage whisper, "HEY. HEY. I THINK THAT'S HER! I THINK THAT'S THE LADY WHO OWNS THIS HOUSE!"
...so if you're going to have a nude in the bedroom, do make sure that it depicts a subject other than yourself. It's the nude self-portrait that I personally would find weird. The photos of your friends probably wouldn't bother me as much, but I would likely never ask you to tell me about them. Since I wouldn't know that they were friends of yours, I'd probably just think you had photos of naked women hanging in your bedroom unless you told me otherwise.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 1:44 AM on January 13, 2011
Nudity, not a problem.
But if you had pictures of yourself, nude, it would just strike me as kind of narcissistic. I'd probably be very wrong, but this is what I'd be thinking in my head..."geez, into yourself much?"
posted by The ____ of Justice at 1:57 AM on January 13, 2011
But if you had pictures of yourself, nude, it would just strike me as kind of narcissistic. I'd probably be very wrong, but this is what I'd be thinking in my head..."geez, into yourself much?"
posted by The ____ of Justice at 1:57 AM on January 13, 2011
To me it's not about prudishness or being uncomfortable with the human body. It's more like a flashback to the 80s. I see a nude hanging in someone's house, I'm instantly transported to 1985.
I have artist friends who have things like postcards of nudes or sculptures of nudes and that, to me, doesn't seem at all out-of-place. It's just the canvas and the photographs that do. So, probably just me, but that's my opinion.
posted by cooker girl at 4:18 AM on January 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have artist friends who have things like postcards of nudes or sculptures of nudes and that, to me, doesn't seem at all out-of-place. It's just the canvas and the photographs that do. So, probably just me, but that's my opinion.
posted by cooker girl at 4:18 AM on January 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
I will comment late to say that I - genderqueer, activist-y, nerdy, city weirdo--would be much less squicked by naked pictures of you or your friends than by famous pictures, especially "classy" nudes or high culture modernist nudes. If it's your friends, my assumption is that you basically like those pictures and maybe they have personal/sentimental meaning to you. If you have a high culture nude print, I might assume that you're the type of person who thinks it's slick and cultured--sort of a silk-satin robe, tiny mustache, I-am-a-connoisseur kind of person--to have "erotic" pictures in the bedroom. Which would put me right off!
I mean, if we started seeing each other and you had heavily-posed erotic photos of your old friends who all happened to be incredibly perfectly beautiful, I would probably feel really insecure when sleeping with you. But I'm assuming that these are more naturalistic.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on January 13, 2011
I mean, if we started seeing each other and you had heavily-posed erotic photos of your old friends who all happened to be incredibly perfectly beautiful, I would probably feel really insecure when sleeping with you. But I'm assuming that these are more naturalistic.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on January 13, 2011
I was invited over to a friend's once and when I went up to his room (it wasn't a date, btw) his wall was covered with cut-out pictures of women's faces. He said that whenever he saw one he liked in a magazine, he cut it out and stuck it on the wall. It was really, really creepy.
I like nudes in art, but there's a difference between artistic photographs/drawings and narcissistic ones. Ultimately it's down to what YOU want in YOUR house, but if I went to visit someone and they had several pictures of themselves up (nude or not) it would seem narcissistic to me. (I have one picture of myself on display and it was taken when I was five.)
posted by mippy at 7:47 AM on January 13, 2011
I like nudes in art, but there's a difference between artistic photographs/drawings and narcissistic ones. Ultimately it's down to what YOU want in YOUR house, but if I went to visit someone and they had several pictures of themselves up (nude or not) it would seem narcissistic to me. (I have one picture of myself on display and it was taken when I was five.)
posted by mippy at 7:47 AM on January 13, 2011
I am not a woman BUT my parents have one IN THE LIVING ROOM . MY current wife or any ex gfs never said anything about it.
IT just shows a woman who is naked which looks like she is going to sit up say from a bath.
Has no nipples and no eyes or anything. just a generic feamale naked form.
As long as its tastefull i do not think women will care.
posted by majortom1981 at 9:41 AM on January 13, 2011
IT just shows a woman who is naked which looks like she is going to sit up say from a bath.
Has no nipples and no eyes or anything. just a generic feamale naked form.
As long as its tastefull i do not think women will care.
posted by majortom1981 at 9:41 AM on January 13, 2011
Re hermitosis' Goya - yeah, but that's "intentionally weird/creepy/edgy", not Love Master, The Master Of Love (LOVE THAT and stealing it to describe certain dudes in my life). In my last place, my roommate and I had a framed print of Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes in the living room. It definitely weirded out a few people, but I don't think it made any potential partners feel like we were sketchy slimeballs who were going to take sexual advantage of them.
Maybe they were worried we were going to behead them in their sleep, though? That's always a possibility.
posted by Sara C. at 10:56 AM on January 13, 2011
Maybe they were worried we were going to behead them in their sleep, though? That's always a possibility.
posted by Sara C. at 10:56 AM on January 13, 2011
I would be okay with all of it.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:03 AM on January 13, 2011
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:03 AM on January 13, 2011
I don't think nudes are weird. Hell, I'm a young heterosexual woman and I have a female nude in my bedroom (it's a reproduction of a Victorian print and I really like old photography).
But, I think pictures of yourself are weird, and nudes of yourself even more so. It's kind of like "hey, I'm so sexy I like to stare at myself naked in the mirror all day!"
posted by vanitas at 3:49 PM on January 13, 2011
But, I think pictures of yourself are weird, and nudes of yourself even more so. It's kind of like "hey, I'm so sexy I like to stare at myself naked in the mirror all day!"
posted by vanitas at 3:49 PM on January 13, 2011
Love Master, The Master Of Love (LOVE THAT and stealing it to describe certain dudes in my life)
I'd love to take credit for that, but it's not mine. Meet the real Love Master
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:23 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'd love to take credit for that, but it's not mine. Meet the real Love Master
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:23 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
"You're the only naked woman in the room" is a saying that's supposed to make you feel less insecure about your body when you're getting naked with a man.
"Men love naked women: don't worry about your thighs because yours are the only thighs in the room and he's not comparing you to anyone, he's just jazzed that he's looking at naked thighs." But having a wall-full of other naked women is kind of going to throw that. The internal monologue will go "Oh, her stomach is flatter than mine, maybe he likes flat stomachs, he might be turned off; gee, she doesn't have stretch marks on her thighs, what if that's what he likes..." Etc.
posted by thebazilist at 8:27 AM on January 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Men love naked women: don't worry about your thighs because yours are the only thighs in the room and he's not comparing you to anyone, he's just jazzed that he's looking at naked thighs." But having a wall-full of other naked women is kind of going to throw that. The internal monologue will go "Oh, her stomach is flatter than mine, maybe he likes flat stomachs, he might be turned off; gee, she doesn't have stretch marks on her thighs, what if that's what he likes..." Etc.
posted by thebazilist at 8:27 AM on January 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
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