Fairy Art: Erotic Flower Fairies; Contemporary Faerie Art ( Faery Art ) after the Victorian Fairy Art Tradition by Howard David Johnson

Fairy Art Gallery; A Mild Erotic Fairy Art Exhibition: Contemporary Romantic & Erotic Fairy Pin Up Art after the Victorian Tradition by Contemporary American Illustrator & Photographer Howard David Johnson, who combines painting, drawing, photography, and digital artistry to create his super realistic Erotic fairy Art. Featuring free erotic fairy art AKA erotic faerie art erotic faery art fairy pictures digital fairies fairy paintings faerie photos erotic fairies new faeries faerie photo art fairy tale picture gallery faery pictures faerie paintings and fairy pin up art...

Presents: Flower Fairies; A Contemporary Erotic Faerie Art Gallery

A Gallery of New Paintings, Drawings and Pictures from Fairy lore in traditional oils, Colored Pencils, Acrylics and cutting edge digital mixed media in the style of the classic illustrators.

The Fairy Art (Aka Faerie Art, Faery Art) Gallery

"One of the chief attractions of fairy paintings for the Mid-Victorians was that it made possible highly realistic and revealing pictures of the female form that would have otherwise been inadmissible...Thus, I am Continuing in a very real part of the tradition of Victorian Fairy Paintings with innocent, natural, and mild portrayals of the uncovered human form...The Classical or Greco-Roman school of art is distinguished by the notion that the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. Unlike in modern revisionist folklore, in traditional faerie lore, fairies were quite sexy! Many of them commonly went about proudly unclothed - uncommonly beautiful - mischievous, and scandalously promiscuous!

Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination

"The Flower Fairy", "Tiny Dancer" and "Elven fairy Magic" MMXII- MMXIX

"A Golden Flower Fairy", "The Dew Drop Fairy" and "The Dandelion Fairy"

flower fairt painting art faerie beautiful

"Coaxing the Flowers to Bloom" (above left), "A Goodly Faerie Maiden" and "The Orchid Fairy" (above right)

Fae Gambol dancing fairy picture painting The Butterfly Fairy [ detail ] art painting flower fairy The Butterfly Fairy Flower fairies painting art picture

"Fairy Hotties ~ "Fae Gambol", "The Butterfly Fairy" [ Right-Detail]

Fairy art cute ladybugs painting faerie sexy pixie

"Flying Lessons" (above left), "The Light of the Faerie Maiden" and "Moonlit Flower Fairy" (above right)

Fairy Art: The Golden Age of Fairy Art began in the wake of books such as the tales edited by the brothers Grimm and revivals of Shakespeare. Of all Shakespeare's plays A Midsummer Night's Dream has had the most compelling hold on the imagination of artists. William Blake made a series of watercolors in the early 1790's. Victorian artists initially took their cue from Shakespeare but soon devised their own scenarios. By the mid 1800's a tradition developed among British and Scottish Painters that continues today all over the world in every known media... this exhibition of contemporary "fairy paintings" embraces this tradition...



        Fairy art painting flower fae faerie cute butterflies

"Fairy Glamour Magic" (above left),"The Light of the Faerie Maiden" [detail] , and "The Fairy's Blessings"

The nearest analogy to the shape of fairy belief in Scotland and Ireland - the Pixies of southern England is that of the popular oral traditions of the early Arabs. The belief in Lady Fairies, deathly to their human lovers was as common in Samoa as on the banks of Loch Awe. Since ancient times, the Irish have referred to fairies as the Shee, (or Sidhee in Gaelic.) I strongly believe the best books on Celtic Fairy lore are still "The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies" by the Rev. Mr. Kirk and Keightley's "Fairy Mythology", but they are difficult to acquire. Brian Froud and Allan Lee's "Fairies" is a simply marvelous book and easy to obtain. I think they are my favorites among living artists.



"Hurt Feelings" (above left), and "Faerie Seduction" and "Forest Pixies" (right)

painting of fairy leanding birds

"A Goodly Faerie Maiden" and "The Good Fairy" (right)

One of the chief attractions of fairy paintings for the Mid-Victorians was that it made possible highly realistic and revealing pictures of the female form that would have otherwise been inadmissible... Thus, I am Continuing in a very real part of the tradition of Victorian Fairy Paintings with innocent, natural, and mild portrayals of the uncovered human form... I find it odd that modern America, the world's leading exporter of hard core pornography is also more hypocritical about female nudity than the Victorians, who invented the table cloth to attempt to keep men from thinking about legs.

toadstool fairy mushroom mouse sugar glider

"The Blue Fairy", "Pandora's Box (center) " Oil on canvas and "Elven Fairy Magic" Prismacolor Painting on Bristol board

Fairies: also Faerie or Faery, the common term for a legendary race of clever super- natural beings who meddle in human affairs. Commonly associated with the Celts, Fairies are not the product of one culture or time; they have a pedigree. Ancient Greek Heroes had fairy lemans, called nymphs, and the faraway Asians, Eskimos and American Indians had similar fairy legends as well. The mythic Gandharvas of Sanskrit poetry were also fairies. Unlike in modern revisionist folklore, in traditional faerie lore, fairies were quite sexy! Many of them commonly went about proudly unclothed - uncommonly beautiful - mischievous, and scandalously promiscuous!

"Tinker Bell" (above left), "Mystic Faerie " and "The Magic Mushroom Fairy"

Many faery tales popular today had their origins in the folk tales of prehistoric times. A female spirit who wailed to foretell death was called a Banshee. A fairy circle unleashed great magical powers. Fairies were not always small... the Ancient Celts believed them to be human size and without wings! ( The Tuatha de NaNaan ) Like Aesop's Fables before him and the Brothers Grimm after him, Shakespeare re-invented the folklore of the fairies in the 16th century for a new era in his immortal"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Other names for fairies and fairy like creatures include fays, sprites, elves, brownies, pixies, pixy, Robin Goodfellow, dwarfs, gnomes, trolls, kobolsd, peri, hobgoblins, leprechauns, and also included are the nymphs, dryads, oceanids, hamadryads, naiads, nerieds, oreads, undins, fauns, satyrs & mermaids.The Greek Sirens of Homer are a form of these Fairies, as the Nereids, Oreads, and Naiads are fairies of wells, mountains, and the sea.

Faerie fary painting fantasy art

The Fairy women who come to the births of children and foretell their fortunes with their spindles legends were found in ancient Egypt. The fabled trickery and changeling legends are also quite common the world over. The evolution of the fairy tale continues to this day. This Celtic, Shakespearean, and Victorian Fairy art gallery welcomes you to this celebration of all things Faerie..."The Little People" or Leprechauns were the a race of elves ( fairies ) from the folklore of the Irish. ( or Luchrupan ). They were master craftsmen and hoarded hidden treasure. Like the fairies, contact with them could either be a blessing or a curse. Over the course of a thousand years, the gods of the Ancient Celts - also known as the elves and fairies... evolved into what we now call the little people. Country People still commonly believed in them until the coming of the television in the 1950's... Since ancient times, the Irish have referred to fairies as the Shee, ( or Sidhee in Gaelic. )

Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination...

INDEX of GALLERIES ~ LINKS to LARGER ART

The Realistic and Fantastic Art Galleries of Contemporary American Illustrator Howard David Johnson

Click on these Fun Educational Realistic Art Gallery link icons for Two-fisted Tales of VALOR & Frontline Combat featuring Legendary Warriors of History, Knights and ladies of Arthurian Legend, Celtic, Nordic, Asian and Olympian gods & monsters, unicorns, dragons, fairies... and more!


Angel Art	King Arthur	Norse Mythology	Greek Mythology	Legends of History	Fantasy Art	Celtic Mythology	Great Religions	Mythic Women	Fairy Paintings	Oriental Mythology	Russian Mythology
				\
Mermaid Art	History Part Two	Classic Fairy Tales	History of Dragons	Pencil Portraits I	Studio Photography	Colored Pencils II	Art Instruction	Realistic Paintings	Pre-Raphaelite Art	Legendary Women	Warrior Women

The Art of War	Mythic Creatures	About Realistic Art	Science Fiction Art	Beautiful Women	Art NuVeau	Fantasy Pin ups	Fairy Lore	Flower Fairies	Spartan Warriors	Lost Atlantis	Lady of Shallot

Catholic Art	Art of the Bible	BOOK of REVELATION	Surrealist Art	Commercial Art	Business Center	Style & Technique	Biographical	Paintings in Oils	ELVES	Digital Techniques	DINOSAURS

All these pieces of art and the text are legally copyrighted and were registered with the U.S. Library of Congress Office of Copyright by the author, Howard David Johnson All rights reserved worldwide. Permission for many academic or non-commercial uses is freely and legally available by simply contacting the author via e-mail or visiting www.howarddavidjohnson.com/permission.htm

Who is American Illustrator Howard David Johnson?

In one of David's invitations to the Florence Biennale Contemporary Art Exhibition, (a partner in the United Nations' Dialog among Nations), UN Secretary General Kofi Anon wrote him: "Artists have a special role to play in the global struggle for peace. At their best, artists speak not only to people; they speak for them. Art is a weapon against ignorance and hatred and an agent of public awareness... Art opens new doors for learning, understanding, and peace among nations."

Howard David Johnson is a contemporary realistic artist and photographer with a background in the natural sciences and history. David works in a wide variety of mixed media ranging from oil on canvas to digital media. David's realistic illustrations have made appearances in every major bookstore and game shop chain in America as well as magazines and educational texts around the world.

Some of David's more prestigious clients have included the University of Texas, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, The Australian Mint, The National Geographic Society, Paramount Studios, Universal Studios, MGM Studios, Warner Brothers Home Video, ABC/Disney, CBS TV, PBS TV, The History Channel, Enslow Educational Publishers, Adobe Photoshop, Auto FX, Tree-Free Greeting, Verizon wireless, Apple IPOD, Penguin, Doubleday (Now Random House), Harlequin Top Historical Romances, and the History Book of the Month Club, as well as appearing in periodical publications like Popular Photography and the Wall Street Journal.

A Traditional style portrait of the artist. [Photo by his son Erich.]

After a lifetime of drawing and painting, David's Traditional Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London in 1996, ( 3 years before he got his first computer ) as well as numerous American ones since, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Working in a variety of media David offers his customers a variety of options and more than three decades of experience. As an illustrator he has not only used the computer but has been involved in the development and marketing of software for Adobe Photoshop. Digital art, Colored pencils, Pastels, Mixed media, & also Oil Paintings can also be commissioned for select projects.

Digital illustration projects start at $500.U.S. and group rates are available. David delivers custom made copyright free illustrations & old fashioned customer service when he does work-for-hire. To publish existing pieces of his realistic art, David sells licenses starting at only $99.USD.

Business and Retail Services:

You can e-mail for more details at:

info@howarddavidjohnson.com

Your business, letters and links are always welcome!

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STYLE and TECHNIQUE

"Those who are enamoured of practice without science are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass and never has any certainty where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a sound knowledge of theory, of which perspective is the guide and gateway, and without it nothing can be done well in any kind of painting."

Howard David Johnson is a contemporary visual artist and photographer with a background in

the natural sciences and history. He works in a wide variety of media ranging from traditional

oils, pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. This site features

examples of his Realistic Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine art.

" Pandora's Box MMV" Featuring Kimber- (oil on canvas) Only his finest works end up rendered in oil,

The various galleries linked to by the icons above show many examples of His Realistic Art, and are grouped by theme rather than media. Since boyhood he has passionately copied the old masters. To create his work, he usually starts with a thematic concept followed by his photography, often traveling to find suitable scenes and locations and then working in his Photography studio with live models from his sketches. He then assembles a variety of elements which are realistic and original.

As a boy he dedicated his life to art in 1960. From 1965- 1999 he used xeroxes and tracings to make his preliminary photo montages. This is patterned after the manner used by Maxfield Parrish and other 19th century notables. Beginning with a tracing, he then draws or paints from these complex original Computer Photo Montages. Many of these are on display on this web and slated for future completion in a variety of realistic traditional art media. As this happens, the finished work is substituted in the exhibit.

Working in a realistic style inspired by classic illustrators HDJ is deeply rooted and grounded in the Greco-Roman artistic tradition, Feeling that with realistic art, the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. His lifelong dream came true when his Traditional Realistic Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London England in 1996. His mixed media has also been displayed in numerous other ones since such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

His favourite medium for realistic art is colored pencil because of the high speed and low expense, and people began expressing difficulty in telling his colored pencil drawing from photographs in the early 1980's. In the last 35 plus years he has also mastered Oils, Pastels, Acrylics, Watercolors, Inks, Scratchboard, Gouache, Photography, and the highly controversial digital media (Art Num�rica ). As a commercial illustrator Johnson has not only used the computer to create art but has been involved in the development of computer imaging software. Having achieved international acclaim as a traditional visual artist he discovered digital media in 1999. Because of his passion for realistic art and photography he elected to embrace it and joyfully be a part of this historic era in the visual arts as a 21st century realistic visual artist.

Since 1972 when he began his career as a scientific illustrator for the University of Texas he has earned his living illustrating all kinds of books, magazines, CD covers, and all sorts of games, greeting cards, calendars, portraits, murals and the like with his contemporary realistic art. His Realistic Art has appeared in every major bookstore chain and fantasy gaming shop in The United States and has been used in educational texts and magazines all over the world. This site features realistic paintings & pictures for the twenty-first Century including some oil paintings, as well as lots of other exciting media such as colored pencil drawings, pastel paintings, acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, watercolor paintings, and pencil drawings, and also featuring studio, field, & aerial photography, digital painting and photo-montage and all these media mixed in an assortment of experimental combinations...Working in a wide variety of media to create his realistic art he offers his customers a host of payment and product options. He delivers the rights to these custom made copyright free illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does work-for-hire. He loves to paint custom oil paintings and accepts commissions with down payments starting at one thousand dollars. On his existing works his low cost license offers start at only 100 dollars.

*****

Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840- 1893) - The Nutckacker Suite; The dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Thank You for Visiting the Erotic Fairy Art Gallery of Howard David Johnson...

*****

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Personal Opinion Essays on Realistic Art yesterday and today by the artist.

In addition to his mastery of traditional media, Howard David Johnson now combines drawing, painting, photography, and digital media with more than thirty years of experience in these fields to create his Realistic Art Num�rica in 21st century paintings and pictures. Did you know the Greek word "Photography" means "Painting with Light"? Today with the advent of computers it truly lives up to it's name. Due to developments in Art and Technology, a broader definition of painting is needed than that which is found in common usage. Introducing Art Num�rica -an exciting merger of traditional visual art and cutting edge technology... a new art form for the twenty- first century... Art Num�rica is not limited to realistic art but also offers limitless horizons for everything from cartoons to abstractions. It is the most dramatic development in the visual arts since the Renaissance. In the words of Al Jolson in the movie world's first talking picture" You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Essay One: "THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME..."

(A Brief essay dealing with attitudes toward Traditional Realistic Paintings, Pastels, Colored Pencils and Art Num�rica )

"Painting, in art, the action of laying colour on a surface, or the representation of objects by this means. Considered one of the fine arts"

~Encyclopaedia Britannica.

"Painting. noun. 1.) The act or employment of laying on colors or paints. 2.) The art of forming figures or objects in colors on canvas or any other surface, or the art of representing to the eye by means of figures and colors any object; the work of an illustrator or painter. 3.) A picture; a likeness or resemblance in shape or colors. 4.) Colors laid on. 5.) Delineation that raises a vivid image in the mind; as in word painting.

~ Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language

("Faerie Guardians" MMVI is the artist's newest oil painting.)

Snobbism in the arts is nothing new. Some people will tell you that oils are the only valid medium for realistic paintings. That Colored Pencil, Digital, and other Realistic Painting and Drawing Media are not valid for "real" art. Young artists, Don't let them bother you. Their forerunners used to condemn Pastels before they gained acceptance and called them "crayons" when Johann Alexander Thiele (1685-1752) invented them. Mercilessly disrespectful art critics of the time could not stop the Experimentalists no matter how viciously they attacked and derided them. "Crayon-painting" as it was called in England was practiced early on by persecuted pioneers in Switzerland and many other nations. What a debt we owe to these master artists who refused to knuckle under to the pressure of those short-sighted critics during those historic and experimental times. It took until 1870 with the founding of the "Societe` Des Pastellistes" in France that respect came at last to these heroic & immortal visual artists.

In England the liberation of the Pastellists from slight regard and undeserved disrespect came with the first exhibition of "The Pastel Society" at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1880. Pastel Painters like Mary Cassat and others from America and other nations forever silenced the snobs with their masterworks and gained recognition at long last for Thiele's invention as a valid art medium. I am persuaded that history will repeat itself. Like Pastels, I believe these wonderful new colored pencils and even Digital Realistic Art Media will one day receive the recognition they deserve as powerful mediums of artistic expression just as pastel paintings did. What is your definition of art? Have you thought about it?

Mine is: "anything that makes you feel or think."

Consider dancing... it can be a little skip in the step or rise to the level of the incomparable Russian Ballet. Did you know that just the materials alone for a single oil painting cost up to a thousand dollars these days? Even paying the artist less than minimum wage no one but the super rich can afford them anymore. Something's got to give. Realistic paintings in oil have been highly prized for centuries and the appeal and following of realistic art is undiminished to this day. Oil paintings featuring Abstract Art and Realistic Art are generally the most treasured form of all the visual art media and with good reason. But snobbish art critics favoring abstract art have declared that realistic paintings, or illustrations are not art for a century. With so many representationalist paintings by so many immortal master artists hanging in the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the British Museum and others I think the disrespect for realistic illustrators that dominated the 20th century is academically ridiculous as well as vain and intolerant, insisting theirs is the only valid opinion. What is your definition of Art? I believe almost any form of human expression can be raised to the level of "high art" especially visual art and Realistic illustration...

Pastel, Acrylics, and Colored Pencils combined

By my own definition of art, which is: "anything that makes you feel or think" most abstract paintings are not "real art" to me personally, because abstract paintings usually neither make me feel or think, usually focusing obsessively on technique and avoiding any coherent content. I usually draw a complete blank mentally and emotionally when I look at them. In 1979 the Houston Metropolitan Museum of Art displayed a triptych of 3 giant paintings they paid fifty thousand dollars for- three blank white canvasses entitled "untitled". Then there was "The incredible new artistic Genius" with an I.Q. of 62 ...Congo the chimpanzee with his gala New York art exhibition...an elaborate prank played on the Snobbish American Art critics about a generation ago by research scientists in the field of primatology. Imagine how upset they were when he created one of his "ingenious masterpieces" right before their eyes.

( My Source for this is the Time Life Science Library volume entitled "The Primates". )

Art education has been almost completely removed from American Schools as a result of generations of this kind of fabulous nonsense contributing to America's cultural illiteracy crisis. Now, the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and other notables are being removed from school libraries. After generations of this, most American college graduates today cannot name even one living visual artist, abstract or realistic.

There is no way that mandating more math, requiring more reading, or scheduling more science will replace what we have lost as a culture.

What is your definition of Art?

~HDJ

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Note: Abstract Paintings by Congo the Chimpanzee outsold Warhol and Renoir by over 25,000 dollars in June 2005 at a London art auction. Born in 1954, Congo created more than 400 drawings and paintings between the ages of two and four. He died in 1964 of tuberculosis. There is no precedent for this kind of sale.

Essay Two : The Rebirth of Realism

More thoughts on realistic art yesterday and today by the artist

Art History has entered a new era with the birth of Art Num�rica, or digital art media in the 21st century. Artists never stop exploring with mediums. Artists have been developing techniques, experimenting with different tools since at least twenty- five thousand years ago, when the first artist picked up a charred stick and scratched a picture out on the wall of his cave. You'd think everything would have been tried by now, but it hasn't. Exploring new mediums this very day is just as exciting, just as full of freshness and newness as it ever was.

Photography, Drawing, and Painting combined -Art Num�rica

The creation of Realistic art has been the goal of most artists since the dawn of civilization. Realistic art was the pride of ancient Greece. The world's greatest museums are full of realistic art. Realistic art WAS art until the advent of the abstract expressionist movement in the twentieth century. The coming of the camera in the nineteenth century changed realistic art forever. Suddenly, realistic art was not the only way to create realism in portraits and historical records. The work of the realistic artist was suddenly made into an expensive luxury. The political power of the realistic artist was broken and they were no longer an indispensable member of society. Hostility to the creators of realistic art goes back to ancient times and the jealousy of advisers to the Pharaohs and others who were not able to spend as much time with their rulers as their portraitists. Although with the aid of photographs, realistic art achieved levels of excellence undreamed of, the realistic art movement of the late nineteenth century was short.

None of these people earning their living creating realistic art could compete with the speed and low cost of photographic portraiture. Determined to survive, great realistic artists like Pablo Picasso ingeniously turned inward and began to explore things that could not be photographed in a new school of art, abstract expressionism. The day of the fine art superstars had arrived. It was now largely just a hobby to abstract and realistic artists alike. Illustration, because of advances in printing technology enabled an elite few to earn a living with their realistic art. These illustrators working in realistic art media were condemned and ridiculed in much the same way Europe's great symphonic composers were condemned for working in motion pictures after fleeing the nazis during World War Two. The rift between realistic and abstract art grew wider and wider. The universities and key media usually sided with the abstract camp and derided anyone working in any realistic art media declaring boldly that realistic art was not "real" art. Immortal giants of realistic art such as Maxfield Parrish were mistreated their entire lives. They were accused of selling out for creating beautiful pieces of realistic fine art to earn a living. The attitude that the true artist must suffer and starve and die in poverty became a rule. There were the Abstract art superstars, the professional realistic illustrators, and the hobbyists who, although cut off from gainful employment and social influence still recognized their artistic gifts as a calling rather than a profession.

Early abstract art masters proved themselves as realistic artists before delving into realms of the intangible. They had to do this at that time to prove themselves because of the challenges they faced from the establishment for going against the status quo. In the latter part of the 20th century, realistic artists like HDJ were challenged to do abstract art to prove themselves as shown in the example above (Deirdre of the sorrows). Later realistic art training was abandoned in most schools and things like splattering paint in fits of rage were deemed more than enough. By the end of the 20th century something as destructive and ridiculous as nailing a pack of cigarettes to a shoe was considered fine art but not realistic paintings. Fashions in art have often been as silly as fashions in ladies hats. As the century drew to a close, many people had had enough. The realistic revolt was at hand. The rebirth of realism was fueled by the advent of the digital era. Now, for the first time in almost two centuries, an artist or illustrator could earn a decent living again with his realistic art. This is historic. Realistic art is not going to go away, especially now that photography has truly merged with traditional realistic visual art. Photography comes from the Greek words meaning "painting with light". Now with the advent of digital media the capability of realistic art has become almost limitless, truly, "painting with light". The merger of all the world's art forms to realize the potential of motion pictures has come now to still realistic art media. This website for example, combines music, prose, poetry, photography and traditional realistic art media to create an experience beyond merely looking at realistic paintings.

The twenty- first century is already seeing a new renaissance in the arts because of the world wide web. There has never been anything like it. Abstract art, computer art, photographic art, and realistic art are continuing to be separate schools of art but are also blending to create exciting new horizons. Although Digital art does offer completely new horizons to the artist in the 21st century it does not mean the end of our time honored art traditions. Instead, it offers additional ways to keep these traditions and schools of thought fresh and alive. ~ HDJ

info@howarddavidjohnson.com

Thank you for Visiting... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome.

*****

Essay V

Sexuality, Violence, Morality, and their relationships with the Arts in 21st century American Society

A case for the sacredness, purity, and beauty of the human form

A brief personal opinion essay by the artist

In history, the Classical or Greco-Roman school of art is distinguished by the notion that the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. Unclothed figures were very common in Classical art and their culture was very comfortable with it in general. The Victorians in contrast have always stood out in my mind for their extreme prudishness and puritanicalism. They invented the tablecloth to prevent men from looking at a table's legs because they feared a table leg might make men think of sex. In spite of this, 19th century Victorian Art did allow some unclothed figures in statues and paintings within certain bounds. One of the principal attractions of fairy paintings for the Mid-Victorians was that they made possible highly realistic and erotic pictures of unclad females that would have otherwise been inadmissible. In the 20th century the sexual revolution eliminated all of these traditional boundaries. I can see how the radical transformation of society by the total liberation of the subconscious was a bit too much for most people. In 21st century America however, the sight of a healthy unclad woman is taboo even in the visual arts.

A moral pendulum swinging too far again?

I find this very interesting considering they way American society is so comfortable with children viewing extreme violence and gore on television and in motion pictures. It's terrible- disembowelments, exploding heads with splattering blood and guts, cut off arms and legs are deemed just fine for prime time children's viewing. But not to worry- the profanity has been edited out. It seems too arbitrary to me. If the human body is torn apart or cut to pieces it is all right. Desecration of the human body is embraced or tolerated while appreciation or adoration even in art, is condemned.

The average American child sees 40,000 violent deaths on television alone by the age of 10.

After all the outrageous and horrible events that have happened in America surrounding the turn of the millennium I am amazed that the only real public out cry about anything has come about over a harmless affair in a politician's private life and a stray breast at a national sporting event. I also find it interesting that the religious establishment in America feels that the healthy uncovered female human body is a dirty, filthy thing to be ashamed of. I disagree.

Since the source for this stigma is supposed to be the sacred writings of the Judeo-Christians, I present to you the idea that this is not what these actually teach and will use illustrations. This comes from Jesus' saying: "If a man even look at a woman to lust after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart." By this same standard, just thinking about robbing the poor and the elderly is a sin, but in our society the act is considered "a good business move". Don't misunderstand me, he taught that his commandment was to love one another, and basically that if you did that the ceremonial law was fulfilled. A more positive approach; if you love someone you won't murder them, falsely accuse them, etc., etc., If your heart is full of covetousness for a woman, a car or anything it is likely you will transgress this law in practice. Cheating, stealing, and even murder in actual practice are taken in stride by our society, but seeing a woman's left bosom exposed is an outrage. If the Ten Commandments are the standard we're going by as they say-

What about the other nine?

Children are diligently taught to dishonor their parents on every "family"television show. It is taboo now- yes, it is actually considered wrong to portray a good father in American movies and television with only the rarest of exceptions. What is so terribly wrong about a portrayal of a good dad? To me, this is an outrage. Stealing the retirements of thousands of teachers who have worked hard all their lives is also not deemed a problem. What about "thou shalt not murder"? (Interestingly, it doesn't say” kill"{ harag } in the original Hebrew text, { Exodus 20:13 } but "murder"{ ratsach }. ) In Nazi Germany, six million people- Jews, Christians, and politicals were secretly murdered in the death camps, but in modern America, more than thirty million baby boys and girls have been publicly murdered in abortion clinics and we call that a “choice". Judeo-Christian morality, and that's what we're talking about here only justifies killing in self-defense. With all the different forms of other effective birth control available I find this astonishing that we as a society can be so cold blooded on such a massive scale. Thankfully, it's not my decision to make, being a man; I wouldn't even know where to start. I can conceive of grievous circumstances that make clear an ongoing need for safe and legal abortions. I just don't understand why people choose it so often over less horrific forms of birth control. I only bring this up because of the disparity between the tolerant reactions to these violent, bloody things and the intolerant and even violent reactions to the sight of a peaceful woman’s uncovered bosom celebrated for it's natural beauty through the arts.

I believe that women are the brightest and loveliest of all of GOD's creations. The sight of a healthy young partially uncovered girl on television even for a split second is considered a crisis and we hear public outrage? The human body itself, filthy; Think about it. Since the basis of this sight of a healthy human body taboo is supposed to be of Judeo-Christian religious origin, I want to examine this outrageous doctrine that the human body is filthy. In the Bible's first book, Genesis, it says, "they were naked and were not ashamed" and it teaches us that men and women were "made in the image of GOD". To follow this line of reasoning, GOD would also have to be filthy. Case closed. I don't think what I perceive to be the crowning achievement of GOD's creation, the woman - is filthy, but is instead pure and beautiful.

What I believe to be GOD's greatest creation is considered filthy, and not people's minds?

What's wrong with this picture?

These outrageous boundaries chosen by our society are so poorly thought out that Michaelangelo's statue of David is even deemed pornography and books with such works of art are being removed from our public school libraries. I'm not suggesting that we remove these boundaries again, Heaven forbid! Only that these new ones are ill conceived and badly placed and I would personally prefer to return to the traditional ones and avoid all these extremes.

~ HD Johnson MMIV

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