From ART BEAUTY LIFE blog
If you want to hang out in a room full of naked people, the Lucian Freud's exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is a very special opportunity to do that (it runs through December 31, 2011). In fact, I suggest that this time around you skip Roman sculptures and Asian decorative art as well as other rooms in the Modern Art section -- go straight to Kimmelman gallery and allow yourself to fully immerse into the rich world of Freud's paintings.
We live in the world where body image is a cause of emotional distress and psychological disorder, and an image of a body as a symbol of sex has become the strongest marketing weapon. The concern for how we look is now on a critical path of our pursuit of happiness. It is engraved into youngsters with clearly defined standards of pretty and ugly, acceptable and not. It has a flavor of despair, shame and guilt.
And all that is a great reason to come and visit with Lucian Freud -- he will challenge your points of view and have you questioning. What bodies do you consider beautiful? What do you think about your own body? Does nudity have to be sexual? Is it shameful? His paintings will confront stereotypes that have been passed on to you and the ones you developed throughout your life. What do you find repulsive? What are your thoughts when you see an aging body of an old person? What are your judgments of fat bodies?
There is a good chance that after seeing this exhibition you will come out a better person.
Image credits: Lucian Freud (British, 1922-2011). Naked Man, Back View, 1991-92. Oil on canvas 72-1/4 x 54-1/8 inches (183.5 x 137.5 cm.) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1993 (1993.71) © The Estate of Lucian Freud
Original posting: Nakedness: Lucian Freud @ Metropolitan Museum of Art
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