Colonnade

Issue date: 3/4/05 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Will Godfrey Jeremiah Wilson, junior art major, studies the human body in his upper-level drawing class. Nude models have been posing for art classes at GC&SU for the past four years.

Standing nude in a classroom full of scrutinizing eyes may seem like a nightmare to some students, but to others, it has become a way to make good money.

The Georgia College & State University Art Department has been hiring nude models for the past four years for upper-level drawing and painting classes taught by Assistant Art Professors Bill Fisher and Valerie Aranda.

Fisher said nude models are a fundamental part of the curriculum of his drawing classes, and the opportunity for artists to draw the human body is critical to artistic development.

"Crucial to art students' whole university experience is drawing the human body," Fisher said. "It's the most physically and psychologically complex and powerful form to work with."

Fisher began advertising for the department's need for both male and female models a few months ago and said he is impressed with the amount of responses received from interested students and staff

"I choose the models on a first come, first serve basis and we've had about 40 people interested," Fisher said. "We're trying to get everyone who applied to model at least once, if time permits. We've had so many different body types and different personalities, and they're giving us really strong results in the classes."

Fisher said his Drawing III class draws primarily nude, or undraped, models, while his Drawing II class draws both draped and undraped. He gives his students unfamiliar materials to draw with, such as charred oak kindling and lumps of homemade charcoal, to help them focus of the manipulation of the media on their papers.

The job, which pays $15 an hour for nude models and $7.50 an hour for draped models, requires them to pose for 3 hours each class. The money to pay the models comes from the student lab fees.

Caroline Smith, a sophomore community health major, has been posing nude for Fisher's classes throughout the semester. She said the money she makes from the modeling job helps her pay for food and gas for her car.

"This job is definitely worth the money and it's really easy [for me]. It's actually fun and it's not like I'm sitting at a desk," Caroline Smith said. "This kind of job really opens doors. You can do it anywhere later in life, like at graduate school, and it's a great opportunity for the models and the art students."

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