Florida principal Hope Carrasquilla, who lost her job in March after she showed sixth-grade students images of Michelangelo’s “David”, visited the sculpture in Florence, Italy
Jill Burke, a professor of Renaissance visual and material cultures at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said that pornographic images are meant to elicit an erotic response, but this is “certainly not the David’s intention.” As the largest free-standing nude sculpture made since the fall of pagan civilizations, she said, its nudity instead can be understood as a representation of the ideal human form, inspired by classical works.
“Calling the ‘David’ pornographic says more about that particular viewer than the art object,” she said. “Most people are able to separate an aesthetic response from a sexual one.” The idea that an ancient marble statue would cause desire “seems a bit odd,” said Nicola Beisel, a professor of sociology at Northwestern University. But she also raises the question: If it did cause desire, what’s wrong with that?on teaching gender identity and sexuality have drawn outrage from LGBTQ advocates and education experts. It’s notable, Beisel said, that desire aroused by a male body would presumably be ascribed to a woman, a gay man or a trans person.
Claudia LaMalfa, an art history professor at the American University of Rome, said “David” is a fundamental piece of arts education that shows “a genius at work.” The debate around its nudity reflects something greater at stake, she said. “If Michelangelo’s ‘David’ can no longer be used to ask young students to think,” she said, “then the modern democratic system of teaching fails.”
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