Nudes Get Shown Some "Exposure"

Part of the Weekly Shot of Art series

The nude is still a controversial subject, as can be attested by this Texan teacher fired for taking her students to an art gallery. It's just that everyone has a different idea about it, and in most cases, that's a good thing. "nude" at the Exposure Gallery is a largish group show and so necessarily fills in all the spaces between genders, physiques, colour (both film and skintone), and traditional versus modern ideas of beauty.

I was simultaneously enamoured with Diana Strub's classic black and white nude woman as I was with Ella Sharp Morton's "Nude with Octopus". Robert Wilkinson's (his image is picured to the right) work is also particularly engaging - two triptychs seeming to tell a story of a man and a woman inside their thin frames.

I think ultimately though, that despite my love of art, I am a lover of words first, because the piece that stuck with me the most (despite having a comparatively un-striking image) was "You said, is there anything..." by Judy Witheford. The image is distorted, but has a snippet of e. e. cummings' poetry written across it:

"You said, is there anything which is dead or alive more beautiful than my body, to have in your fingers (trembling ever so little)?
Looking into your eyes Nothing, I said, except the air of spring smelling of never and forever."

That bit brought all the differences in the room together with an appreciation for the human body, both playful and reverent. The show only runs until October 1st (this Sunday), and the gallery hours are Thursday to Sunday, 12 - 5 PM, but it's definitely worth the effort of trying to fit it into the weekend plans.

Image courtesy of Robert Wilkinson and the Exposure Gallery.

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Exposure Gallery
851 Beatty Street