“Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work? The more pressing question is: why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot? Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body? Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration. We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self-expression.”
If these weren’t Melania Trump’s words in a recent Instagram post of hers, we’d welcome them as a timely, necessary stance. All the more in the face of ever-growing censorship on social media. But they are Melania’s (politicized) words: they were met with ridicule (many reckoned she wanted to embarrass her husband?) or quickly dismissed as a publicity stunt (her memoir ships this October 8). We beg to differ: when was the last time a (former) first lady defended the tradition of the nude, its weight in western culture and the freedom of expression it fosters?
“The Greeks attached great importance to their nakedness,” observes historian Kenneth Clark, who posits: “Before the Crucifixion of Michelangelo we remember that the nude is, after all, the most serious of all subjects in art.” But the Romans were shocked by the nakedness of Greek athletes; Christian morality “eradicated the image of bodily beauty” in medieval art, and the ‘obscene’ genitals in The Last Judgement were ‘covered’ some twenty years after Michelangelo’s death. In which direction has the pendulum swung these today? “Social media corporations have become cultural gatekeepers,” recites the Don’t Delete Art manifesto. “With unprecedented power to determine which art works can freely circulate and which ones are banned or pushed into the digital margins.” Power to silence and suppress what some may find offensive. And yes, nudes are being removed, censored, flagged, hidden, downranked every day –we experience it firsthand here at Playgirl. Meta has even taken down photos of well-known paintings and sculptures, despite its own ‘Community Guidelines’ (verbatim: “nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK”). Would Titian’s nudes, Poussin’s, Boucher’s, Matisse’s… be deemed salacious, by today’s standards?
Ironically (provocatively?), Melania chose to illustrate her post with a photo of Michelangelo’s David. Didn’t a Florida principal get fired, because she ‘exposed’ sixth-grade students to it? Well, thank you Melania, for cautioning that Michelangelo’s David –and its penis– isn’t pornographic and that censorship is no less real in the 21st century than it was in the ‘50s (“we’re no longer able to”). No matter if only to promote a memoir. Thank you for reminding us that there’s no sin and no shame in “celebrating the human form;” that art is indeed a “powerful means of self-expression.” Then again, what is “beauty” and what is “art?”
Melania on the cover of GQ, January 2000.
