Life-Modeling as a Business and an Art

Life-Modeling as a Business and an Art: Workshop Description

For many years, people who work as models for artists and for artist groups have been expected to rely on self-training. To be more accurate, models are expected to work purely from their “natural talent” for modeling. To be most accurate, neither training nor talent has been a consideration for models at all. These expectations are inaccurate, and offer disservice to art, to artists, and above all to models. Good modeling is a profession, and—as in other professions—the greater the talent and the fuller the learning, the better the modeling is.

In this set of workshops, models at different levels of experience
will work with each other to share insights, experience and expectations
so as to increase mutual understanding, performance, and solidarity,
both as business people and as performing artists.

There will be five two-hour sessions, the first four taking place
close together, and the last—a follow-up session—scheduled three to six
months later.

A person who successfully completes the first four workshop sessions
can expect to have a good resume, set of assignment leads, background
knowledge of rights, obligations, what to expect, how to deal with the
unexpected and what to bring to a modeling session.

Topics to be covered in the workshop include the following:
Life-modeling as an art: life drawing in art; who “should” model;
model’s rights; modeling and career; art-modeling vs. fashion modeling;
the artist-model relationship; types of posing; holding poses; group
poses; props, clothing and accessories: dealing with the unexpected;
resources for models.
Life-modeling as a business: resume preparation and business cards;
financial records; contracts; getting assignments; the interview; photo
“model releases”; forming (or joining) a models’ association;
professional advancement.
Practicing poses: Each workshop session will provide models the
opportunity to practice figure-drawing poses and offer artist and model
evaluation of poses.

29/06/2010