Nude in a Classroom: the Contemporary World of Life Modelling
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2019 Nude in a Classroom: The Contemporary World of Life Modelling Kannaki Bharali The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3019 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] NUDE IN A CLASSROOM: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD OF LIFE MODELLING by KANNAKI BHARALI A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2019 © 2019 KANNAKI BHARALI All Rights Reserved ii Nude in a Classroom: The Contemporary World of Life Modelling by Kannaki Bharali This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Sociology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Philip Kasinitz Chair of Examining Committee Date Lynn Chancer Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Cynthia Epstein David Halle Elizabeth Wissinger THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Nude in a classroom: The Contemporary World of Life Modelling by Kannaki Bharali Advisor: Dr. Phillip Kasinitz Throughout the history of Western art, drawing from live nude models has been considered one of the most efficient way to develop artistic skills. While drawing live nudes used to be something one had to enroll in an art school to do, life drawing has now transformed to a leisure practice across widely diverse cultural groups. Professional art models hold a unique place in contemporary society because of the profession’s historical roots with nudity and sexuality. The symbolic boundaries in life drawing in art schools strongly encourage desexualization as a necessary way of shedding the stigmatized and sexualized identity of life models. New forms of life drawing, however, contradict the desexualized environment, where the boundaries of pedagogical conventions and sexual connotations often blur. Through interviews with art models and participant observation in life drawing sessions in art schools, and recreational spaces in New York City, my dissertation examines the challenges that the social taboo of nudity poses to models and their experiences in the changing work environment. The occupational identity and meaning-making of contemporary life models have implications for understanding the complexities involved in an under-valued occupation. iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many people who saw me through my dissertation and to all those who supported, encouraged, discussed, read, offered constructive criticism, and assisted in the editing and proofreading. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my committee chair and “academic father” Professor Phillip Kasinitz, for his patience, motivation, openness, encouragement and immense knowledge. He taught me the craft of research, particularly the creative process of connecting intuition with idea generation. I cannot imagine having a better advisor and mentor for my Ph.D. study. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the rest of my dissertation committee— Professors Cynthia Epstein, David Halle, and Elizabeth Wissinger—for their insightful comments, encouragement, and the challenging questions which pushed me to widen my research from various perspectives. I greatly value the close personal rapport that Professor Epstein and I have forged over the years. I thank my fellow doctoral students Sandy, Hyein, and Simone for the stimulating discussions and all the fun we have had in the last five years. I am grateful to my writing group (especially Hamad and Kyla) for their support. Also, I thank my friends Swati, Gautam, Pongkhi, and Peter for carefully listening to my ideas and for all their valuable suggestions. Coming up with interesting quotes and titles for my dissertation while drinking wine was only possible with their company. v I am especially indebted to all the models, event organizers, and artists for participating in my research. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Graduate Center for its financial support, granted through the 2015 Provost Pre-Dissertation Fellowship. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family: my parents and my husband for supporting me spiritually while I wrote this thesis, and in life, and for encouraging me despite all the time it took me away from them. It was a long and difficult journey for them. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Data and Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1. Ethno-sexual Boundaries and Formalization of Life Modelling ....................................... 16 The development of casual labor in formal art training .............................................................................. 17 Ethno-sexual aspects of nude modelling ..................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2. Learning the art of disrobing ................................................................................................ 33 Professionalism ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Embodied self-awareness and body labor ................................................................................................... 36 Aesthetic labor ............................................................................................................................................ 42 Emotional labor ........................................................................................................................................... 43 Being comfortable with nudity ................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 3. The perils and pleasures of life modelling ........................................................................... 49 Bohemianism or hustling ............................................................................................................................ 51 The paradox of stigma or honorable work .................................................................................................. 54 Finding dignity at work ............................................................................................................................... 61 Chapter 4. Defense of life modelling from pornography ....................................................................... 69 Non-sexual attitude towards nudity ............................................................................................................ 71 Desexualization ........................................................................................................................................... 73 Adhering to social norms ............................................................................................................................ 81 Chapter 5. Recreational life drawing: a case of urban spectacle .......................................................... 88 New forms of life drawing .......................................................................................................................... 89 Social ambivalence and blurring boundaries ............................................................................................ 102 Conclusion: Cultural production and the reproduction of culture .................................................... 108 Appendix I. Questionnaire ........................................................................................................................ 116 Appendix II. Questions for Models........................................................................................................... 119 Appendix III. Questions for artists, Model coordinator ........................................................................... 120 Appendix IV. Table 1 ............................................................................................................................... 121 Appendix IV. Table 2 ............................................................................................................................... 122 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................. 123 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. Demographic Characteristics…………………………………………………………………………………………….121 TABLE 2. Work Description………………………………………………………………………………………………………………122 viii INTRODUCTION Life models are paid professionals who pose for visual artists. Models