Chalkboard Conversations

So in the bathrooms of one of my favorite local coffee shops, there are these chalkboards that people (including myself) scrawl all over in attempts to connect with random strangers also in need of a restroom facility. The messages range from political cartoons to "for a good time, call..." notes to philosophical questions about the meaning of life. Tonight's messages were some of the most thought-provoking that I've read in a while.

#1: "The outline of the naked woman in the window is CHEESY!!!!!"
#2: "But had she been clothed, she would have been more intriguing?"
#3: "I think it's artistic."
#4: "Yay!"

So #4 had little to do with the ongoing discussion, but the first three were quite relevant. You see, this place has huge windows that face the busy street, and the proprietors have chosen to add the outline of a nude woman to the window decor. I personally agree with #1's comment. It's cheesy. It's random. It serves no purpose. But it was #3 that got me thinking this evening...

Why does nudity automatically force something into the artistic realm? Have we become so anthropocentric to think that the human form earns artsy points right off the bat? I don't buy it. Now maybe it's just my own personal prejudice getting in the way. Those of you who know me well enough know that nudity, to some degree, makes me a little uncomfortable (but in my defense, that's my own nakedness, not others').

I can wrap my head around the interest in the nude form during the Renaissance. The moratorium on humanism (or basically, the non-existence of it) during Medieval times makes that understandable. Now though? Really? I mean, haven't we all been hyper-exposed to nakedness at this point? We know what naked women look like! We get it! What I would like to see is a surge of interest in fully-clothed humans...intrigue in people who show little of their anatomy...it's much more mysterious that way, don't you think?

Artistic or not, in the case of the coffee shop, I really think they just slapped up a nude outline to bring in more customers...naked coffee is quite a concept.