PERCEPTION OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OF NUDITY AS A SUBJECT:
ART OF OBSCENE
A Quantitative Research Proposal Presented to
The Faculty of the Senior High School Department
La Consolacion College Bacolod
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
Research 113 - Quantitative Research
ARISTOSA, ADRIANE
BAGUIO, AIDAN JOSHUA
DELA TORRE, MARK JOSEPH
FRIAS, ELVIN JOHN
GADUYON, ELOIZA
PACILAN, NICOLE SHANE
RANARIO, RICHMOND ZOILO
MIRAN, CHRISLEEN JOY
SENDICO, MARIANNE NICOLE
SONG, YEONA
August 2019
Rationale
Body has been one of the subject that people especially artists use in their works.
Throughout the history, images of nudity have been produced by many artists even by our great
ancestors. According to Garder (2015), archeologists had discovered statues of women like Venus
of Wilendorff, a fertility and sexuality goddess, that is believed to be the oldest female nude figure.
It represents a naked woman on whose mature body the breasts and hips are very prominent
(Kohen, 1964).
The decorative and symbolic function of nakedness is the most important, in part because
the contrast between the nakedness and clothing is fundamental to the system of differentiation
such as aesthetics, morals, and functionalism (Konig, 1990). The nude is the important facet of the
artistic tradition dating back to ancient times, making the unclothed figure unavoidable in the
comprehensive consideration of art.
The ultimate goal of most art nudes is to ensure that all the lines being drawn by the human
form draw the viewer’s attention to the face of piece. The expression made in that face is the
primary focal point of the piece. This is where the story is told (James & Freelance, 2012).
The nude explores some of the principal ways that paintings of the nude function in the
conflicted terrain of culture and society in Europe and America from the fifteenth through
twentieth centuries, as set against questions about human sexuality that emerge around differences
of class, gender, age, and race (Leppert,2007). The Female Nude brings together, in an entirely
new way, analysis of the historical tradition of the female nude and discussion of recent feminist
art, and by exploring the ways in which acceptable and unacceptable images of the female body
are produced and maintained, renews recent debates on high culture and pornography (Nead,
1992). According to Arieti (1975), in most of human history, nudity was a natural and normal part
of life. People were nude when environment and conditions favored them. Arieti says the true
foundations of nude recreation and social nudism started in Ancient Egypt under Pharaoh Akhen-
Aton (1385 - 1353 B.C.).
A mark of the educated art lover is the ability to assess a reclining nude in artistic terms
alone. From this perspective, the nude is solely a matter of subtle flesh tones, sophisticated
composition, learned references to other reclining nudes, a flurry of knowing points about the
goddess she is meant to represent (Borzello, 2002). The ability to represent the naked body would
become the standard for measuring artistic genius but its portrayal was not without controversy,
particularly in religious art. Although many artists argued that athletic, finely proportioned bodies
communicated virtue, others feared their potential to incite lust, often with good reason (Pound,
2019). Nudity in and of itself is not sexual. When looking at a nude always consider the context
of the content. There’s a clear line between art and pornography (James & Freelance, 2012).
Art can be defined in many ways and as old as humanity. Right from creation to this day,
whatever is done is art (Amenuke, Dogbe, Asare, Ayiku, and Baffoe, 1991). Art is the expression
of the artist’s unique view of art and of the world, an outward manifestation of the artist‟s
emotions, thoughts, feelings, fears, dreams, and observations (Gilbert,1995). It isn't appreciated
solely for its beauty or emotional power; the best art causes an emotional response in the viewer
(Masoner, 2018). Art is always ambiguous. When it involves the female body it can also be erotic.
Erotic Ambiguities is a study of how contemporary women artists have re-conceptualized the
figure of the female nude (McDonald, 2001).
The nude is ideal and generous. It is not a real body but an imagined one. Actually this is
a caricature of rich views that move between outrageous statement and subtle analysis of works of
art (Jones, 2008). Artists sometimes include nude descriptions of the human form in their work.
The artists and many other liberals and citizens of the art world argue that it is important for artists
to feel the freedom to express themselves in any way that they wish. Nude modelling for art classes
can be a very interesting and engaging experience for people interested in working with artists,
who are open-minded about their bodies, and who would like to make a little extra money from
the work (Maplesden, 2017).
There is a clear difference between an art nude and pornography. The goal of an Art nude
tells a story or to make an artistic statement using the human body. A photographer will use
lighting, backgrounds and a model to make a statement about the human body in its natural state.
An artist will draw or paint the body with a focus on lines, color composition and form. A sculptor
who carves nude forms out of clay or stone will focus on getting an accurate representation of the
lines of the human form in three dimensions. In each of these mediums the artist focuses on
showing the lines made by the body in its natural state (James & Freelance, 2012). Basically,
sexuality is active, while nudity is passive (Spier& College, 2016).
Visual processing of human bodies is sensitive to the visibility of the sex-related features
of human bodies and that the visual processing of other people’s nude bodies is enhanced in the
brain (Hietanen & Nummenmaa, 2011). The less clothing the models in the pictures were wearing,
the more enhanced was the information processing: the brain responses were the strongest when
the participants looked at pictures of nude bodies, the second strongest to bodies in swimsuits, and
the weakest to fully clothed bodies (Hietanen & Nummenmaa, 2011). Nudity has long been a
staple of fine art, but many people feel it is inappropriate for an artist who is also a faithful Christian
to portray nudity in their work (Deacon Lawrence, 2019). In spite of all the wide diversity that
characterizes human body-covering practices, however, women are still sexually covered, to some
degree, in every part of the world. Even in those regions where tropical heat and humidity should
for utilitarian reasons discourage any body covering, women still conceal those special parts that
we describe euphemistically as the "private parts." Euphemisms, come to think of it, are a verbal
version of sexual concealment. Even with the words we use, we are inclined to cover. We call the
emotions that drive this covering practice shame and modesty (Peterson, 2011). Women adopt
more negative attitudes toward advertisements that use sexy female models than do men, and this
effect is independent of nationality in a European context (Dianoux & Linhart, 2010). Perhaps the
most offensive aspect of our conflicting attitudes toward nudity and the importance of consent is
that while women are derided for their own exploitation, the actions of a man forcing images of
his genitals upon his victims are utterly erased when the tables are turned and his behavior is
exposed (Trout, 2014).
Most people think nudity is equal to sex, as that is often times what results when they see
someone naked. Movies are rated based partly on how much nudity they have. You'd never take a
kid to an NC17- or R-rated movie, so people mistakenly apply the same logic to nude activities.
It's pertinent to point out almost all nudity in movies is meant to be sexual. There are movies such
as Schindlers's List that have nudity in non-sexual ways, but those movies are incredibly rare. In
fact, I can't think of another one off the top of my head (Clark, 2018). Our bodies, and the bodies
of people who are gender fluid and non-binary conforming, are sites of moral judgment in ways
most men’s are not, especially in public and in protest. Some of us experience our bodies, in
particular our nudity, as objects of repression, oppression and powerlessness (Chemaly, 2017).
Nudity is prevalent in today’s art, whether its statues, plays, or dance
performances. Nudity has, in fact, become the latest fashion (Barcan, 2004). Public and school
officials, organizations, and individuals alike have taken action to remove such arguably offensive
art from public galleries, theaters, and other venues (Hughes & DeVerter, 2018). The nude was
considered to be the most prestigious and pure form of art, whilst at the same time was vilified by
the state because of its incitement to unregulated sexual activity (Smith, 1997).
Nude is timeless, because human sexual nature evolved before the stone age and has
essentially not changed since – apart from a few customs Jones, 2013). Increasingly, social
marketers are using sexual information in public service announcements and collateral material
for a wide range of causes (Reichert, Heckler & Jackson, 2013). Sexual appeals were more
attention getting, likeable, dynamic, and somewhat more apt to increase their interest in the topic
than were nonsexual appeals. We cannot deny the fact that there are also people who view nudity
as a form of an art. If we base it in our history many of the artists like Michelangelo di Lodovico
Buonarroti Simoni, and Albrecht Dürer became well-known because of using nudity as a form of
art. The bare body gave the artist more room to express emotions like tension, anger, power,
desperation and also allowed the expression of movement. In mythology nudity was also a
common use in portraying the gods and goddesses. Nudity enlightens us to the fact that human
beings, truly, come in all shapes and sizes, and bodies that adhere to conventional beauty standards
are as rare as Jennifer Lawrence (Tan, 2015). Any artist who does nude work has the freedom to
do whatever he wants to do. But at the same time he has to respect the opinion of the people who
refuse to see his work and buy his work. He cannot force his work on people who don't want it
(Challa, 2009). With the increase in age and experiences lived and shared, the approach with each
other evolves, becomes less naive and lighter and more and more aware not only of the other but
also of the self. Increased needs, the perception of the self, and also the approach to one's own
body and sexuality, and, to this awareness, not lead to anything else that a greater sexual freedom
(Rossini, 2017).
Even though the making of nude figures and drawing exist in the pre-historic time, it
is not yet clear whether the Senior High School student of La Consolacion College – Bacolod
(LCC-B) see it as a form of art or something that is sexual. Thus, the researcher decided to find
out the perspective or the perception of people about nudity as a subject.
Theoretical framework
Conceptual framework
Religion
Perception of senior
Family high school students of Nudity
Orientation LCC-B
Sex
Orientation
Objectives of the study
The study aims to know the perception of Senior High School students of Nudity as a subject
Art or Obscene.
Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What is nudity as a subject of art when taken as a whole and group according to:
a. Sex
b. Grade level
c. Religion
2. What is nudity as a subject of sexual when taken as a whole and a group according to:
a. Sex
b. Grade level
c. Religion
3. Is there a significant difference of the nudity as a subject of art when grouped according
to:
a. Sex
b. Grade level
c. Religion
4. Is there a significant difference of the nudity as a subject of sexual when grouped
according to:
a. Sex
b. Grade level
c. Religion
5. Is there a significant relationship between nudity as a subject of art and a subject of
sexual?
Based on the questions stated above, the following hypotheses are:
1. For the number 3, there is no significant difference of nudity as a subject of art according
to sex, grade level, and religion.
2. For the number 4, there is no significant difference of nudity as a subject of obscene
according to sex, grade level, and religion.
3. For the number 5, there is no significant relationship between nudity as a subject of art and
as a subject of obscene.
Scope and limitation
This study will focus on the Perception of Senior High School student on Nudity as a
subject: art or sexual. The study will be done through the utilization of questionnaire to the senior
high school students of La Consolation College Bacolod as a survey and reference. The study will
be conducted in La Consolation College Bacolod City, Negros Occidental during the 1st Semester
of Academic Year 2018-2019.
Significance of the study
Senior high school students. This study provides information to clarify the curiosity of
every student on what the nudity is all about. This study will evaluate the judgments and the
mindset of the student. In the end of the study they will be mindful enough in judging a work or a
piece of nude.
Artists. This study will inform them about the different impression of people in a piece of
nude. This may be helpful to the artist to not hesitate in sharing their work and in order for them
to justify the importance of nude figure in their field. This may motivate artists in making more
nude artworks and for art collectors to collect more of it. The people who are offensive in their
works is not a hindrance for them to stop producing a nude kind of art.
Teachers. The given data may guide the teacher on what to do in dealing with student’s
responses regarding to nudity. The teacher may be able to understand on why the student keeps
responding when talking about nudity and later on, teach them that throughout history, bodies and
naked human figure are not shameful things as they are in today’s culture.
Researcher. This study would be beneficial to the researcher in order for them to have an
idea that the people have different perspectives. They would know how people react and comment
regarding to the said topic and for them to be conscious for the people who are sensitive when
talking nudity.
Definition of terms
Art. Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful
forms suitable for human use (Wright, 1957).
Operationally, it is the perspective of individual towards a piece of work.
Sex. refers to the biological differences between males and females, such as the genitalia
and genetic differences (Newman, 2018).
Operationally, this will recognize if the participant is a male or female.
Religion. In its broadest sense, the term “religion” means adherence to a set of beliefs or
teachings about the deepest and most elusive of life’s mysteries (Renard, 2001).
Operationally, this will distinguish the influence of the belief of participant.
Track/strand. Operationally, it is defined as the course taken by the participants according
to their preferences.
HUMSS Strand. It this study, it is operationally defined as the chosen track of the
participants of this study.
LCC-B SHS students. In this study, it is operationally defined as the participants of this
research.0808
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