![]() ![]() In my experience, the opposite is true: Rather than being under the microscope of a covetous gaze, the model is considered something timeless and honorable. ![]() Media’s depiction of the artist’s studio as a heavily sensual space is likewise a misconception. Modeling liberated me from judging my body, and societal expectations lost their hold over me. The model’s image is only reflected in the artists’ interpretation. Modeling is not like standing before a mirror artists’ eyes, though analyzing, are not criticizing. ![]() Rather, modeling gave me back my self-esteem and healed me. The assumption that one must be entirely self-confident in order to model for artists is a misconception. Art modeling gave me a way out of that cycle. Like many others, my self-esteem suffered as I judged my body against idealized standards, and my own image in the mirror became disappointing and uncanny. So, why does this narrative persist, and what are its implications?Īfter the challenging transition from child to young adult, young women especially can feel that their bodies don’t belong to them, but instead to the critical gaze of society. Having worked as a professional model and artist, I can attest that it is not sexy or crackling with tension like movies and fantasies would have us believe. While true artists and models generally understand this notion to be exaggerated, the perpetuation of this singular narrative affects all of us. Modeling is a serious profession which suffers from the narrative that a (usually female) model’s worth comes from their ability to spark romantic inspiration in their (usually male) artist counterpart. The relationship is nearly always male artist / female model, and this storied dynamic props up our continued perception of women as objects, and what’s more, women who disrobe as sexually available. Any iconic artist seems inevitably required to have some kind of torrid love affair or long-term romance with their “muse,” who usually started as or became their life model. Our culture seems obsessed with the artist/model relationship, portrayed in countless movies and narratives as a relationship that is - and can only be - lustful and scandalous. They did not know our language, we were not talking that way. Even 27 years after the paintings were made public, Testorf had to address the question in the BBC’s production “ Michael Palin in Wyeth’s World,” stating, “They didn’t know any better. When the “Helga Pictures” were released in 1986, the public went wild with salacious curiosity, inevitably posing the question of whether the artist and model were sexually involved. Testorf was Andrew Wyeth’s model from 1971 to 1985, during which time Wyeth secretly made over 240 paintings of her and hid them from everyone, including his wife. Helga Testorf is considered to be the last unknown person made famous by a painting. ![]()
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