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Art,
Philosophy, and Art Philosophy: Essay 0005
Personal Opinion
Essays on HISTORY, MYTH, MORALITY,
& ART yesterday and today by the artist.
Essay V
Sensuality,
Violence, Morality, and their relationships with the Arts in 21st
century American Society
A case for the
sacredness, purity, and beauty of the human form
Howard
David Johnson is a contemporary realistic visual artist and
photographer with a background in the natural sciences and history. He
works in a wide variety of realistic art media ranging from traditional
oils, pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves
mixing media. His web site features many examples of his Realistic
Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine art
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In
our 21st century western society the disparity between the moral
attitudes toward images and actions is amazing to me and I will examine
in this
article just how unfair they really have become and how "political
correctness" is destroying our cultural heritage.
In history,
the Classical or Greco-Roman school of art is distinguished by the
notion that the human
form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. Unclothed figures
were very common in
Classical art and their culture was very comfortable with it in
general. The Victorians in
contrast have always stood out in my mind for their extreme prudishness
and
puritanicalism. They invented the tablecloth to prevent men from
looking at a table's legs
because they feared a table leg might make men think "dirty thoughts".
In spite of this, 19th
century Victorian Art did allow some unclothed figures in statues and
paintings within
certain bounds. One of the principal attractions of fairy paintings for
the Mid-Victorians
was that they made possible highly realistic and erotic pictures of
unclad females that
would have otherwise been inadmissible. In the 20th century the sensual
revolution
eliminated all of these traditional boundaries. I can see how the
radical transformation
of society by the total liberation of the subconscious was a bit too
much for most people.
In 21st century America however, the sight of a healthy partially
unclad woman is taboo even
as an innocent or religious depiction in the
visual arts.
A moral pendulum
swinging too far
again?
I find this very interesting considering they way American
society is so
comfortable with violence- even children viewing extreme violence and
gore on television and in motion
pictures. It's terrible- disembowelments, exploding heads with
splattering blood and guts,
cut off arms and legs are deemed just fine for prime time children's
viewing. But not to
worry- the profanity has been edited out. It seems too arbitrary to me.
If the human body
is torn apart or cut to pieces it is all right. Desecration of the
human body is embraced
or tolerated while appreciation or adoration even in art, is condemned.
I
think the human form is sacred.
The average
American child sees
20,000 violent deaths on television alone by the age of 10.
I find it interesting that America feels that while tolerating
and even
embracing extreme violence and greed that we are outraged at the sight
of a
beautiful young woman and the healthy uncovered female human body is a
dirty,
filthy thing to be ashamed of. I disagree.
Since the source for this stigma about
images of
women is supposed to be the influence on our society's laws by the
sacred
writings of the Judeo-Christians, I present to you the idea that this
is not
what these actually teach and they are also being treated as
arbitrarily as a
buffet line and will use illustrations. This attitude comes
from Jesus' saying: "If a man even look at a woman
to lust after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart." By
this same
standard, just thinking about robbing the poor and the elderly is a
sin, but in our
society the act is considered "a good business move". Don't
misunderstand me, he
taught that his commandment was to love one another, and basically that
if you did that
the ceremonial law was fulfilled. A more positive approach; if you love
someone you won't
murder them, falsely accuse them, etc., etc., If your heart is full of
covetousness for a
woman, a car or anything it is likely you will transgress this law in
practice. Cheating,
stealing, torture, and even murder in actual practice are taken in
stride by our society, but
seeing a woman's left bosom exposed is an outrage. If the Ten
Commandments are the
standard we're going by as they say-
What about the
other nine?
Children are diligently taught to dishonor their parents on
every "family" television show. It is taboo now- yes, it is actually
considered
wrong to portray a good father in American movies and television with
only the rarest of
exceptions. What is so terribly wrong about a portrayal of a good dad?
To me, this is an
outrage. Stealing the retirements of thousands of citizens who have
worked hard all their
lives is "a good business move".
What about "thou
shalt not murder"?
(Interestingly, it doesn't say” kill"{ harag } in the original Hebrew
text, {
Exodus 20:13 } but "murder"{ ratsach }. ) I won't dwell on war here,
but In Nazi Germany, six million people-
Jews, Christians, and politicals were secretly murdered in the death
camps, but in modern
America, more than forty million baby boys and girls have been publicly
murdered
by willing citizens in
abortion clinics and we call that a “choice". If history called that
the
Holocaust,
how will history judge us? Judeo-Christian morality, and
that's what we're talking about here as the most influential source of
America's
laws, ONLY justifies killing in self-defense. The child in the womb is
defenseless.
Again, I
find this astonishing that we
as a society can tolerate or even embrace such horrific and gruesome
acts and then make
such a big issue out of mild nudity in a painting or statue. Our
society treats
sacred writings like a buffet line choosing what is politically
expedient to
their cause and ignoring the rest.
I ONLY bring
these up as an examples of the disparity between society's acceptance
or tolerance of these violent and gruesome things
I've mentioned to contrast them to the intolerance of the sight of
a peaceful woman’s uncovered bosom celebrated for it's natural beauty
in an
innocent setting through the visual arts.
Why is the sight
of a naked
man's chest considered to be decent and not a woman's? I think there is
a
disparity here too in our attitude toward images. If the sight of a
woman's chest is an
outrage why is a man's permissible in ANY situation? I am
told certain works of Leonardo Da Vinci are pornographic now because of
a nipple
but I see romance novel
covers in the grocery store with photos of naked men climbing in
bedroom windows
to commit adultery-why are those considered acceptable? If
images are wrong because there is a chance a man might think of sex,
why are
"romance" novels written glorifying vile acts of sexual betrayal for
NO OTHER REASON but dirty thoughts acceptable? Why are sleazy soap
operas on television
available to children day and night on broadcast television with
sexually explicit scenes glorifying adultery acceptable?
The answer is
simple- its double standard.
As a man, I believe that women are the brightest and
loveliest of all of GOD's creations. The
sight of a healthy young partially uncovered girl on television even
for a split second is
considered a CRISIS and we hear public outrage? Implying the human body
itself
is filthy; Think about
it. Since the basis of this sight of a healthy human body taboo is
supposed to be of
Judeo-Christian religious origin, I want to debunk this outrageous
doctrine that the
human body is filthy. In the Bible's first book, Genesis, it says,
"they were naked
and were not ashamed" and it teaches us that men and women were "made
in the
image of GOD". To follow this line of reasoning, GOD would also have to
be filthy.
Case closed. I don't think what I perceive to be the crowning
achievement of GOD's
creation, the woman - is filthy, but is instead pure and beautiful.
What I believe to
be GOD's greatest
creation is considered filthy, and not people's minds?
What's wrong with
this
picture?
These outrageous boundaries chosen
by our society are
so poorly thought out that Michelangelo's statue of David is now deemed
pornography and
books with such immortal works of art are being removed from our public
school
libraries because of "politically correct" activists. I'm not
suggesting that we remove these boundaries again like in the 1970's,
Heaven forbid! Only that these newest ones
are ill conceived and badly placed and I would personally prefer to
return to the
traditional ones and avoid all these extremes.
~ HD
Johnson
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The
Johnson Galleries
Click
on the Icons to visit the Thematic Galleries of Realistic Art:
Including Mythology of Greece, Rome, Asia, The Norsemen, and
more...Fairy and Dragon legends, The King Arthur Legends, The Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World, Paintings of Ancient Egypt and Babylon,
Ancient Mystic Religious texts, History of War from The Ancient
Spartans and the Trojan Horse to World War Two, The World's Great
Religions, and Art Technique and design...Art Lessons, Celtic Mythology
& Pencil Techniques display some full size art...
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ABOUT THE
ARTIST
The various galleries linked
to by the thumbnail icons in his web show many examples of HDJ's
Realistic Art, and are grouped by theme rather than media. There are
also sample illustrations from his upcoming books on Celtic Myth
and Legend and World Myth & Legend. Since boyhood he has
passionately copied the old masters. To create his work, he usually
starts with a thematic concept followed by a rough realistic
pencil sketch, then followed by his photography, often traveling to
find suitable scenes and locations and then working in his Photography
studio with live models from his sketches. He then assembles a variety
of elements which are realistic and original. As a boy he
dedicated his life to art in 1960. From 1965- 1999 he used xeroxes and
tracings to make his preliminary photo montages. This is patterned
after the manner used by Maxfield Parrish and other 19th century
notables. Beginning with a tracing, he then draws or paints from these
complex original Computer Photo Montages. Many of these are on display
on this web and slated for future completion in a variety of
traditional realistic art media. As this happens, the finished
work is substituted in the exhibit.
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| He
has built up an enormous library of original source photos to use in
his realistic art. Recently he shot hundreds of aerial photos of
clouds at marvelous angles and perspectives and also looking down on
the mighty mountains, rivers, and deserts of the American west while
flying from Texas to Oregon and back for dynamic source material for
realistic flying scenes in upcoming paintings, drawings, and
pictures. For decades he has sought out the most beautiful models
and brought them in for sessions in his photography studio. Using a
strategy employed by J.W. Waterhouse, the old master HDJ imitates most-
see Helen of Troy ( a recognizeable tribute ) and The Messenger ( in
the spirit of Waterhouse ) both featuring Grace- his wistful and
graceful models cannot be underestimated in their contribution to the
stunning beauty and the potential for lasting appeal of his work. Their
last names are withheld to protect them from stalkers & other
internet predators.
His favourite
medium for traditional realistic art is colored pencil because of the
high speed and low expense, and people began expressing difficulty in
telling his colored pencil drawing from photographs in the early
1980's. In the last 35 plus years he has also mastered Oils,
Pastels, Acrylics, Watercolors, Inks, Scratchboard, Gouache,
Photography, and most recently, the highly controversial
digital media. As a commercial illustrator Johnson has
not only used the computer to create art but has been involved in the
development and marketing of computer imaging software for Adobe
Photoshop. Working in a realistic style inspired by classic
illustrators HDJ is deeply rooted and grounded in the Greco-Roman
artistic tradition, Feeling that espescially with realistic art -
that the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic
expression. His lifelong dream came true when his Traditional Realistic
Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London England in 1996. His
mixed media has also been displayed in numerous other ones since
such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Having achieved international
acclaim as a traditional visual artist he discovered digital media in
1999. Because of his passion for realistic art and photography he
elected to embrace it and joyfully be a part of this historic era in
the visual arts as a 21st century realistic artist.
Computers
have not diminished his love of working in traditional media. He loves
to draw portraits from his own photographs as well as using them to
create illustrations in various media. Click on 'The Messenger'
above for more on HDJ's other public domain sources & influences he
uses to create his realistic art.
Since
1972 when he began his career as a scientific illustrator for the
University of Texas he has earned his living illustrating all kinds of
books, magazines, CD covers, and all sorts of games, greeting cards,
calendars, portraits, murals and the like with his contemporary
realistic art... HDJ's Realistic Art has appeared in every major
bookstore chain and fantasy gaming shop in The United States and has
been used in educational texts and magazines all over the world. This
site features realistic paintings & pictures for the twenty-first
Century including some oil paintings, as well as lots of
other exciting realistic art media such as colored pencil drawings,
pastel paintings, acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, water color
paintings, and pencil drawings, and also featuring studio, field,
& aerial photography, digital painting and photo-montage and
all these media mixed in an assortment of experimental
combinations...Working in a wide variety of media to create his
realistic art he offers his customers a host of payment and product
options. He delivers the rights to these custom made copyright free
realistic illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does
work-for-hire.
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*****
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| Howard
David Johnson is a contemporary realistic visual artist and
photographer with a background in |
| the
natural sciences and history. He works in a wide variety of realistic
art media ranging from traditional |
| oils,
pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing
media. His web site features |
| many
examples of his Realistic Art, including illustration,
photography, experimentalism, and fine art |
He accepts
select
commissions to paint custom oil paintings with down payments starting
at only one thousand
dollars. Other media, like colored pencils or digital are of course far
less expensive. He
grants permission for most educational purposes simply for asking
courteously. To use his
existing realistic art he offers licenses for publishing starting as
low as $100.00 USD.
NEW REPRINTS! LICENSES CUSTOM BOOK COVERS
ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION ART
BOOKS
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Your
business,
letters, & links are always welcome.
*****
Thank
you for Visiting...
