20. Practicing Poses

This section expands on the section above, offering general remarks first, then going into suggestions regarding each type of pose described above. A full-length mirror is a very useful tool for people practising any kind of pose; it helps you be aware of how you come across. Models often pose in front of a group rather than in the middle of it. Even so, it is important to remember that you exist in three dimensions, and plan poses so that you will be comfortable in being drawn from any angle. There is a 3-stage growth in development of a comfortable attitude. First is self-conciousness in any pose, but posing anyway, followed by comfort in a growing number of non-revealing poses, followed (usually after considerable effort), by equal, deliberate comfort,and confidence in any pose, as that pose expresses you. Any pose can be given wrong, or wrongly received; but ultimately, there is no such thing as a pose which cannot be beautiful in itself, or cannot be beautiful in art, if it is given and received with love and respect. Suggestions follow for particular kinds of poses.

A) Stretched poses: take a standing pose; bend as far as possible in any direction; hold the pose until it gets uncomfortable. Stand on tiptoe; reach both hands up; stay there as long as you can. Then, start inventing different stretches. TV exercise programs can help here.

B) Moving poses: set a timer for five minutes; crouch; start moving slowly and continuously, from one position to another, without hesitating at any point, until the timer goes off. Try to develop patterns of movement.

C) Idealized poses: get a book of art work reproductions (The Nude by Kenneth Clarke is excellent for this purpose), and imitate the poses as closely as possible. Try to get a feeling into yourself for the emotions portrayed. You will not ice, in trying them, that many of these poses are not natural ones, for you. Listen to music that seems to go with particular ideas, and take poses these pieces inspire. Get someone to read short poems to you; take poses these poems seem to suggest. He sure to include humorous poems in your repertory, as well as the romantic poems you are likely to think of first. Be sure, also, to incIude frankly erotic poetry to illustrate in your poses. When these are used in a context of varied poses, they are very appropriate as expressions, even if you do not plan to use them in public.

D) Character poses: take poses that express exaggerated

feelings [pride, fear, love, anger, hate, and so forth); hold the pose for a few minutes before moving on to tin- next “mood”.

E) Sport and fashion poses: take poses illustrated in the photos, and especially in the drawings, that illustrate magazines like Vogue and Sports illustrated. Watch sportscasts on TV.

F) Natural poses: watch people doing ordinary things in comfortable clothes. Look at. snapshots of yourself in the same kind of clothes: jeans and tee shirt that you don’ t mind getting torn or dirty; pants rather than skirts or dresses… People do not pose naturally when they are wearing skirts, or when they pose as if they were wearing skirts. This is a cultural accretion that is prejudicial to women; our whole culture needs to unlearn it. Pants are a heIp in overcoming this prejudice; modeling nude, in natural poses, can be very helpful indeed. Recreate the feeling in yourself that you find in natural poses, as you recreate the poses. These poses arc relaxed; but they can be more fully expressive than any others. Paintings by Rembrandt and Renoir offer good examples of expressive natural poses.

18/12/2009