Imagine going to a class where nudity isn’t out of the ordinary.

Students in ARTS 200: Beginning Life Drawing get a chance to create portraits of nude models, while learning a variety of different skills and experimenting with many different art aspects. Instructor Geoffrey Smith, however, hopes that his students aren’t intimidated by naked people.
Smith said the class allows students to receive formal art training and enhance their artistic background.

The class helps to break the stigmas of working with nude models, Smith said. Smith believes prior to Art 200 many students have a negative view of the models and the class helps destroy previous stigmas. According to Smith, the class portrays models positively but it is also about much more.

“This class is about taking this information both formally and conceptually, and applying them to other courses,” Smith said.

Mike Ballek, a sophomore art education major, said he enjoys the class, but urges students considering the class to take it seriously.

“It’s not the same old lecture and boring homework,” Balleck said, “it’s different than most of your classes because someone’s naked in the room – that’s what sets it apart from your geology class.”

Ballek said he enjoys the class, and the most difficult part for him is being consistent in good drawing.

Monica Hernandez, a sophomore art education major, said another challenging part of the class is getting the model to return to their original state. Hernandez enjoys the class and enjoys the instructor’s teaching methods.

“It’s time consuming. You have to use your imagination,” Hernandez said. “The main goal is to go for what you actually see.”

Britta Eriksen, a senior business and french translation major, said she would recommend the class to students and does not feel intimidated by the subject matter.

“The class has a very relaxed attitude,” Eriksen said.

Performance is evaluated based on overall improvement, attention to specifics of the given assignment and accuracy of the image, Smith said.

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