(another in a continuing series about jobs done to make ends meet)
I was interviewed by Simon Dray on his radio show, The FM / French Connection on KUSF several years ago. I was asked about my most embarrassing moment. It wasn't my most embarrassing, but I told the story of when my friends locked me out of the car when I Streaked Sonoma State's Library in 1974. That story brought to mind another incident from one of my many jobs. It wasn't embarrassing, but it remains a small lesson I learned about perceptions; perceptions of ourselves and others.
Up until a few of years ago, I always was able to keep myself in
tip-top shape. I easily maintained an athletic 6'1" 195-200lbs with
cut legs, torso and arms. When I was attending Portland State in Oregon to finish out my under-grad degree in History, back in '77-'78, I had a
washer-board stomach, too.
I've never been ashamed of my body, I was raised in a clothing optional family and I never had a problem with being nude. I was married to Carol at the time, and Israel wasn't even a year old, so money was always something we never had enough of. While carrying 16 Units in Classes, I also worked at the Campus Scheduling Department, as well as Bar-tending and Waiting Tables at Elephant and Castle.
I learned that the Art Schools in town, including the Art Schools of Lewis and Clark, Reed, even Portland State paid for live models to pose nude in Life Form Classes. The going rate was $15 an hour for a 3-hour class. Posing for two or three schools a day a few times a week provided a fairly good chunk of money.
I also learned, way after the fact, that one usually never modeled at the School they attended, but I did. I could tell a lot of stares out on Campus were from the fact, they sometimes didn't quite recognize me with my clothes on.
Modeling in Life Form is excruciating physically. I had tried to play Collegiate Football and Pole Vault at Cal Poly Pomona in 1974-75, so I was accustomed to physical excruciation. I was one of the better Models, in that I could hold a pose for 40 minutes. More than that, and the oxygen debt caused my muscles to spasm uncontrollably. I also learned Models rarely looked at a Student's work. But I have to say; my curiosity is what makes me a Artiste, so I just had to check it out. There was a long break towards the middle of the class that allowed the Model to stretch and have some privacy. The Students would all leave. I usually had 10 minutes or more before the first students came back.
What I learned from many observations of these Artists' work in progress, right up to completion of a piece, is that on average, Women Artists and Men Artists tend to see the human body strikingly different.
I think I have a very moderate, objective view of myself. But when I walked around those canvasses, I saw that men tended to draw me, much, much smaller down there than I thought I was; and women tended to draw me much, much larger. So much larger, in fact, I wanted to say thanks a few times.
But I didn't.
I also noticed, that very few would draw in a reality way, most would draw in a more idealized fashion. I asked a guy once why very few of the student artists would draw the scars from my Shoulder Reconstruction and my two Knee Surgeries? (I've had two more on the other knee since then.)
"Because," he sort of sniffed, "true Artists are only concerned with Beauty. By our efforts, we only want to immortalize that which is Beautiful."
Well, I've always taken the view of Balzac and Baudelaire; that Beauty is in and can be found in all things. Then I scrutinized his drawing of me when he left for a break.
Yup!
He had drawn me HUGE!
© 2006 Justice Putnam
and Mechanisches Strophe-Verlagswesen