Member of UdA since 2009
This article was published in ARTnudes in august 2013.
Kae Love is a great and famous Photographer and Art Model. Her talent made and makes her work with an incredible number of renowned photographers, mostly members of our Collective Art Magazine. It is the reason why you'll often find her in our pages.
I know her since a long time and I love her simplicity and kindness. Cherries on the cake, Kae writes and we share the same opinion about the lack of difference in photography. Today her life has changed :
"I was a professional art model for years and years. Now I live in Greece and make websites. I help psychotherapists, therapists, and counselors create beautiful and effective websites. Empathysites and website reviews are the central ways I help therapists. I'm also available for a limited number of custom website projects per year and can offer you consultation too.
Each day on my Facebook, I want a coloured or "out of norms" Art Model. I search in my library of 60 000 photographies and I can say without any doubt that it becomes more and more difficult to find a new one. Maybe aren't they numerous ? Maybe African, Indian and Chinese photographers can't live their passion ? Maybe because most of the photographers live in white country ? Anyway, the photographers who illustrate this article are like me, citizens of a world full of differences which make it beautiful. We are all unique in the entire universe and we are all one.
Peace, Love and Art, my sister and my brother.
Kae Love
"Home"
Self-portrait
Art nude photography is about the incredible ability for the human form to portray human emotion and story. With the help of environments, props, lighting and kick-ass photography, art nude photographs have been some of the most awesome works of art of all time.
If art nudes are about human emotions and human stories, why does it seem like the majority of art nude images are of white models, slender models, young models, and/or female models? No seriously, tell me.
"Venus"
"Countryside"
Chino, prince of the Sahara
Art Model Chino Maldonado
Call me a revolutionary but the last time I checked, art was challenging society. White, slender, young, and/or female models are un-challenging. They are definition of beauty, they are the status quo, they are the standard, they are the cliche subject of art.
Filling your portfolio exclusively with white, slender, young, and/or female models could mean perpetuating one of two dangerous ideologies:
1 - Either white, slender, young, and/or female models are the most worthy subjects in art. These types of models are the best at expressing human themes, stories, and emotions. That perhaps a model of color couldn’t do it as well. Or that a male model can’t be as expressive as a female model. Or that only the stories of the young and slender are the stories that deserve to be heard.
2 -Or art is about beauty and white, slender, young, and/or female models are the most beautiful.
"Peking Opera - The Web Cave"
Georgina Burke
My concern isn’t only about artists challenging the pre-existing ideals.
My concern is that using white, slender, young and/or female models actively reinforces the standards. Using mostly white, slender, young, and/or female models marginalizes every single person who does not fit the description.
So here is an open invitation to stop being a conscious or unconscious creator of racist, sizeist, ageist, and/or sexist societal standards through your art.
Have you ever questioned why you choose to shoot the models that you do? If you shoot models that are not white, slender, young, and/or female, is it a conscious decision? Do you have to go out of your way to find models that are not white, slender, young, and/or female?
Art can change the world, but only if you want it to.
"Sorrow"
Art Model Hitomi
Photographer unknown
Mark-Meir Poluksht
"Feelings in a square"
Massalo
"Open Universe"
Zhang Jingna
"I am the wind"
Self-portrait
Manoj Jadhav
"She"
Gregory Prescott
Art Model Sidney
Kae Love
"Risk"
Self portrait
I confirm and sign : Christian Pélier
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