In yesterday’s post I wrote about the experience of drawing from life, as seen from the point of view of the artist. This very valuable experience is contributed, however, by models and would be impossible without them. Just as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that there are misunderstandings about what it means to attend a life-drawing session, so there are misunderstandings about the people who model for us.
The first thing that comes to mind is that the models with whom I have worked regard themselves as professionals. A few weeks ago I was offered the business card of one of the men who serves the group I attend, and there it was written, “XX: professional life model”. It is often thought that people who do this are somehow pretty desperate to make ends meet, and do a little modelling to help them to tide over financially. The people with whom I have worked, however, regard this as a serious job, and not just as a side-line, and the better ones are in great demand. (Some do have other occupations. One excellent and experienced model in the Bradford area works in the evenings as a bass player in a jazz band.)
There is a real element of skill in modelling. You don’t just take off your clothes and stand there. A model might be asked to provide ten different poses during a session, and it is necessary therefore to have a repertoire of positions that display in a versatile way the attributes of the human figure. The best models I have met are not just there: they also convey the impression that something is happening, and their position conveys a purpose. This requires the artist then to capture the meaning of what is making place, and not just to draw or paint an inert object.
One women with whom I was talking recently told me that she actually rehearses her poses in front of a mirror, trying to appreciate what each will have to offer to the artists who are observing her. In other words, the model needs to be able to appreciate fully the nature of the situation from the standpoint of the people who are drawing him or her. They must appreciate what it means to be an artist.
The thing that often impresses me most is the stamina and self-control of our models. In the group I attend it is unusual for the model to be asked to hold a position for more than twenty minutes. The woman I just mentioned told me, however, of an occasion on which she was required to pose for forty minutes. This is exceptional, and very inconsiderate on the part of the artist. Even so, the discipline required to retain a pose over a length of time is considerable, and requires constant self-monitoring. I do remember one (very good) model with whom I worked a few years ago, who is also a poet, and she manages to compose her verse while posing. That is some achievement! On one occasion, I have to say, I did catch a male model nodding off!
Over the years I have been attending life-drawing classes I have come to respect the service provided for us by our models. Above all, I have come to appreciate them as human beings, who have an understanding of what it is that I as an artist am trying to do, and who create and sustain a significant working relationship that is valuable to both of us.