One of the many activities and projects the Artist Relations Team has taken on was to "trade" galleries with another of our fellow Gallery Directors. For this project I was given the Artistic Nude Gallery and I switched with ^arachnid15.

So what is the Artistic Nude Gallery all about? Well I must admit, at first I didn't know much about it - I knew it was nude photography, but there are many questions that arise when taking a step back and really thinking about it.

I decided that a good place to start would be simply by asking questions of ^arachnid15.

I really wanted to know what constituted something being placed in the Artistic Nude Gallery. Thus, it was my very first question of him. I learned that like many (but not all!) of the galleries here at deviantART there are no exact "set rules."

"First and foremost is that images must contain some or at least partial nudity to be placed in the gallery."

One of the major things to consider is what exactly the focus of the piece is. Take for example "Glamour Portraits" - make-up, lingerie, or clothing and accessories rather than and nudity it may contain, in these cases the image should be placed in "Glamour Portraits" even though it may contain nudity. The focus of the photograph should be on the nudity itself.

"There can be a tremendous gray and in these cases you try to error on the side of the artist as to where they want it placed while still maintaining an artistic nude gallery that meets the criteria set forth."

^{(I have asked ^arachnid15 for a few thumbs that he feels are strong works from the Artistic Nude Gallery, and I will be using them for this article.)}

When it comes to moving images around the Artistic Nude Gallery?

...it basically comes down to a general rule of thumb as a Gallery Director, don't move things you don't like, DO move things that don't belong. Before submitting their work, artists should ask themselves where they think their photographs fit best. What is the main idea of the work, the nudity or emotion? The make-up or the nude human form? Think about what you are trying to convey and where it would fit best.

After I thought I had asked enough questions that would get me really started on educating myself about the Artistic Nude Gallery I decided that a good place to go from there would be common misconceptions that ^arachnid15 encounters on a regular basis. I learned that the one major problem that he faces is that the opinion on any nude photography is that it is porn, and not art. He also had this to say:

"I would like people to understand that the gallery must contain nudity and that not all nudes need to be placed there."

"Me and Karin" "I love the hauntingly isolated feel of this piece. It certainly will make you think. I have pondered it many times as I have looked at it and came up with different interpretation each time. The title alone with drive you made. "Me And Karin" but there are three figures in the image. I love shit like this."

Thank you ^arachnid15 I love that work too, and thank you for taking the time to help give me a better understanding and education about the Artistic Nude Gallery.


Below are some personal favorites I found while taking a walk through the Artistic Nude Gallery: