Hayden Stern, Self Portrait. Graphite, 2021.
Objectification & The Gaze
Thursday, October 21 | 6-7.30p EST
Objectification is defined as "the action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object." In another sense, however, objectification happens every time an artist turns their attention toward a life model — in that moment, the artist may or may not be seeing the model as a whole person so much as a collection of colors, shapes, and contours; a culmination of light hitting form.
While objectification is almost always a bad thing, it is also where the magic of figure drawing happens. The body is, to the Artist's Gaze, beautiful just for existing exactly as it is, much like how we think of things in nature — like clouds, or trees, or rivers.
Join us with guests Hayden Stern and Deyanna Denyse as we seek to detangle the dilemma of Objectification & The Gaze.
Luticha Andre Doucette, Photographer Erica Jae, and Makeup Artist Alicia "Pookie" Astacio, In This Moment. 2020.
advocacy & representation
Wednesday, November 17 | 6-7.30p EST
More than ever, we are recognizing the importance of representation in fine art and media. What happens when the bodies included in our education fail to look like we do? And how can we help ensure that more of our own corporeal realities are included in studio art education in the future?
In this session, we discuss access barriers and the importance of community and allyship. We will also address the complex relationship between figure modeling and sex work: our shared origins, our continued strength as advocates for one another, as well as why our kinship should matter to artists and models alike.
Join us with guests Luticha Andre Doucette and Eddie Bravo in discussion of how their personal experiences inform their practices as figure models, activists, and community advocates.
Yuka Tanaka, Untitled. 2021.
AGENCY & the creative process
Tuesday, December 14 | 6-7.30p EST
While there are many reasons to pursue a career in figure modeling — the novelty of the work, the opportunity to be paid a decent wage in cash, and the closeness to a rich artistic community, to name a few — some life models are devoted to their work as a serious artistic endeavor in itself, and as an embodying practice with the power to heal and reshape one's perceptions of themselves and others.
To conclude our series More Than Life Drawing, we want to explore the ways in which our identities and lived experiences inform our artistic practices, and examine the degrees to which models demonstrate agency in the ecosystem of figurative art-making.
Join us with guests Antoine Hunter and Yuka Tanaka in the final installment of our drawing/lecture series.