Sunday 26 September 2010

What it's all about...

Once more, the seasons turn, and earth, so rich in summer greens and autumn hues, will know the disrobing chill of winter's stripping rite, and yet, on crisp mornings, such exposure conveys a sharp clarity, endearing and as vivid as the rush of spring, instructing us well, on the grace of nature so disrobed, echoing the coming amidst such a barren season, of God, clothed in no more than our frail flesh, to seize us, nurture us back, to Eden's endearing beauty... So, stark undinted nudity, calls in rich tones, of wholeness, soon to herald, upon all Creation's brow.

During the Renaissance, the world enjoyed a certain clarity regarding the value and place of nudity in art and culture. The values of the time informed a four-fold categorization of the matter, distinguishing between immoral nudity and affirming an enriching appreciation to the nude in art and culture.
The four categories were:

Nuditus Temporalis - Nakedness due to peril or poverty, or sometimes due to lifestyle.

Nuditus Virtualis - Nudity as a symbol, usually of innocence, echoed when practiced in actual nudity for certain purposes (repentance and confession).

Nuditus Criminalis - Nakedness in relation to non-virtuous sexual deeds through vanity.

Nuditus Naturalis - The normal (natural) state of humanity, as found in the communion of Eden, conducive in actions such as repentance, and earnestly desired in the forthcoming resurrection (glorification) of the body and the renewal of all creation.

It doesn't take much to work out where most of our modern world's engagement and activity commonly transpires, but this perspective reveals there are certainly other, and I would say more edifying ways in which we can engage with and enjoy the gift of our common state.

I'd like to use this blog to look afresh at nudity as a true wonder - a state which can so enthrall and edify us that we glimpse the art of the divine. So, that's the goal.
I'll seek to furnish entries as research allows with glints of that wonder, including my work as a fine art photographer but my hope is that others will contribute as well, so please engage with the material here, and let's learn more together.

Here's to some moments of value!





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