Daily, in a myriad of campuses across the globe, robes are dropped in classrooms. Bodies perch and bend and stretch, stepping into invisible frames. They align feet and hands with strips of masking tape on the floor. Spotlights are craned. Familiar shadows emerge. The artists raise their charcoal.

Most people can stand back, nod, and admire the finished drawing with its perfectly placed charcoal strokes. But the role of the nude model, which is as necessary as the artist, is replete with misconceptions: that they are exhibitionist. That, in accepting money in exchange for nudity, their occupation looms alarmingly close to … well, stripping. Why not reference a photograph? Or just study the nearest bowl of fruit? To shed some serious light on these issues, I talked with five local nude models, three of whom are also artists, as well as a seasoned life drawing professor.

    “When I told my parents I wanted to be a nude model, they said ‘do you need money? Are you broke?’ ” says Jennifer Hietpas, a former comprehensive art major at UW-Eau Claire. “I guess they thought I was desperate.” Actually, Hietpas was fascinated with the subject after taking an introductory Life Drawing course. When there was a shortage of models the following semester, she signed up. Money aside, she wanted to ensure that fellow art students would have the same enriching experience.

But not all models are artists, or even “artistically inclined.” After teaching life drawing for 25 years, former UW-Stout professor Douglas Cumming noticed that sometimes the decision to become a model was one of personal growth. “There is a sense of making the passage from adolescence to adulthood and maturity, because people are finally comfortable with their bodies,” he says. Cumming also acknowledged that some people just want to be able to say they’ve done it. Depending on the situation, this could shock or impress. Many nude models simply view it as an atypical, mostly easy way to make money a few hours at a time, especially while juggling college classes.

Former nude model Maxine was always “busy in her head,” so she figured she could handle two hours of stillness and silence. “Your mind isn’t naked to them. It was this amazing dichotomy that you are not truly naked. …You can give away so much with your body and mannerisms, but there’s stuff people can’t get unless you’re willing to give it to them … like thought,” she says.

Another common misconception about the job is that it’s easy. In fact, models actively create poses, quickly coming up with different angles for gesture drawings. For longer poses, they endure soreness and muscle cramps. “You don’t realize how much you actually shift your weight back and forth, until you have to hold one position for an hour, with no breaks,” says Tony Mastricola, a student at UW-Eau Claire who just started dabbling in nude modeling this spring. 

    Unanimously, the models speak highly of the level of respect they enjoyed. “It’s funny how people can’t even hold a door for someone else, but they can have this respect in this unique situation,” says Maxine. “The students were protective and caring, and very appreciative that the model gave their time for them.” This caring attitude manifested itself one day in Cumming’s class when a model had an epileptic seizure on the raised platform where she was posing. “The students just sprang into action,” says Cumming. “Cleaning up the drapery, [she had urinated] and carrying her down afterward.”

Establishing this sort of comfort and ease with nudity does take a little time, however. Models and artists alike speak of the initial discomfort. “You get over the 800-pound gorilla in the room the first night,” says Cumming. “After the initial shock, it becomes a reverent exercise. We all know that we have entered a sacred situation, fraught with respect and awe and one hell of a hard task.”

    Describing the task, the artist-models use similar words. Challenging. Frustrating. A mental hurdle. It is recognized as one of the most important “tests” for an artist. “The question is, ‘can you see?’ The answer is your drawing,’ ” Cumming explains. “If you record the apple slightly ‘off,’ nobody would really notice. But with the figure, you have to be spot-on, or everyone knows it hasn’t been critically seen.” Thus, when executed successfully, figure drawings and paintings enjoy a higher level of esteem.

All the knowledge and skill in the world, however, is moot without the willingness of live models. “You can’t get the same experience with mannequins.” says Hietpas. Maxine has a similar outlook. “How are you going to learn perspective on your own, if you don’t draw from real life?” she asks. “A photo just flattens everything out for you.”

The job of the model is recognized as vital within artistic circles, especially colleges and universities, who often pay models the “best wage on campus.” Would a job that is highly sanctioned, which dates back to prehistory, be met with criticism?

“There was the expected humorous joking,” says Tarr. “Guys would ask if there were girls in the class (yes); if I modeled with other nude men or women (yes, yes); if there was sexual arousal (no), etc.” Maxine, who describes herself as an independent person who “never had a problem telling people,” mentioned that her roommates probably thought of it as a “disrespectful occupation.” Maxine puts it simply. “It’s not Playboy; it’s art class.”

    “It’s all about context,” says Phil Kolas, a former nude model and 2008 graduate of UWEC. “You can be drawn or photographed sexually or artistically. It’s like dirty language … there is not anything inherently wrong with four-letter words, or nudity. As long as there is an open agreement … and the pose isn’t intended to be sexy, it’s OK,” says Kolas.

Kolas and Cumming see roots of this closed-mindedness in our culture. “All these things are in place for Americans to keep them away from nudity,” says Kolas. “It’s definitely cultural that nudity is seen as a strange, unhealthy thing.” Cumming thinks Americans are more uncomfortable with nude modeling now than they were in the 60s and 70s – an attitude that he thinks stems from a growing conservative block.

Kolas hopes other people, specifically people who might want to hire him in the future, can respect his occupation. “I don’t know if anyone has been scared off,” he says, referring to that portion of his resumé. But for now, he’s not going to hide it. “It’s four years, and a phone number,” he says. “Otherwise I’d have this four-year chunk with no job.”

Others, though they might be less willing to share their experience on resumés or with certain acquaintances, feel the positive effects of their former job almost daily.

“The experience was empowering,” says Maxine. “None of the physical mannerisms are there – like playing with your necklace, for example. You had to just be comfortable in your own skin.” Maxine and Mastricola both attributed a newfound confidence to modeling. “I was doing stand-up comedy at the same time,” says Mastricola, “and I felt a definite improvement in myself. You do this thing and go back to normal life, and suddenly certain things are easier to take. A speech in front of a class, or performing. It built confidence. You’re like, ‘I’m okay with this; it didn’t feel weird. It was harmless.’ ”

THINKING ABOUT MODELING? What they look for ...

• • “The best models are totally uninhibited and have a sense of grace, and just a tinge of narcissism,” says Cumming. (He adds that you can still be inhibited with your clothes off.)
  • “In general good models don’t have to be artists. They just need to keep still and listen to the instructor’s needs,” says Tarr.
  • All bodies and all physical variations are welcome.

WHO TO CONTACT:

• • UW-Eau Claire Art Department: 836-3277
  • UW-Stout Art Department: 232-1097