I am a conservative performance artist living in Brooklyn. Not many people can understand that statement, especially when they inquire further details of my career, which at times includes nudity. I have found people on the left and the right to be confused by this.
The left is confused by how I could be an artist yet call myself a conservative, and the right is confused by how I can surround myself around liberals. Both are a little confused by nudity.
Most think being a conservative and incorporating the female form into my work is hypocritical but I think the hypocrites are the social justice warriors.
Old school feminists - and some third wave - think any female nudity is objectification.
We all know how feminists manipulate statistical data to "prove" something pointless.
I don't understand these women. Not all nudity is the same. I stared my art career as a student of fine arts in High School taking Advanced Placement portfolio and art history. As a young artist drawing nude still lifes, you do not view the subject in a sexual way. It's like going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and looking at the ancient Greek sculptures and Renaissance paintings. After drawing fruit a million times you realize there is no better subject than the human body, even better the female form.
The statue of David symbolizes the defense of civil liberties embodied in the republic of Florence, a male nude biblical figure shows the craftsmanship of the artist and the timeless beauty of the human form. Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" is another example nudity with beautiful aesthetics while telling a story of the birth of Venus. This is the level of craftsmanship I strive for when creating my costumes and perfecting my craft. There is no sexualized intent. That is the difference between conservative art and the moral relativism of the left in regards to nudity.
I don't particularly associate a nude form with sex. In terms of art, context is key. My work as Lady Alchemy strives to unite the truth with the beautiful, taking alchemical symbolism and creating strange but beautiful aesthetics, using my female form.
There is a branch of feminists within the burlesque community that embrace sex work and call themselves sexually liberated. I find that these people can't differentiate between sex work and performance art. I have even gotten into debates with other performers that embrace stripping as burlesque.
I don't think these women have ever been in a strip club in 2016. It is now a sex slave industry, it's a horrible and degrading industry which truly oppresses women. It is in no way similar to running your own business, making costumes, rehearsing, and performing.
I now refuse to call myself a burlesque performer. I am a performance artist and continue to seek refinement with my art.
In terms of art, the third wave feminists removed classical nude still lifes and replaced the art world with an even more crude vaginally-fixated art.
What a switch from being offended by nudity in classical art. Feminists will try to claim that vaginal art is an expression of feminine beauty 'because they are in control', but why can't men adore the female form as well? Does it have to be sexist?
Leftists tend to practice moral relativism in terms of art. I know art is subjective, but when it comes to the political spectrum of nudity, the far left is laissez-faire to the point at which sexual acts are considered art. Non-sexualized implied nudity is far right.
I am pretty 'far right', but art that I would not myself feel comfortable to perform does not bother me. The works I make reflect my views on how I use nudity, and I am often shocked by how people can misunderstand that concept.
Not only the left, but the right at times.
I have noticed people on the right tend to be very accepting of my work, but at times seem to lump all nudity together, much like the feminists.
I take great offense when my work is compared to porn. I would expect my fellow conservatives to appreciate the refinement and class that I bring to the art world. I hope conservatives don't forget the difference between porn and art.