DAN ROBERTS
WHY DANZ DRAWS OR PAINTS MALE NUDES
After taking some “life drawing” lessons (drawing a live person, sometimes nude) DANZ began drawing or painting people, either facial or full body, including nudes. He says, “I find the human form one of the most interesting, complicated and fulfilling objects to draw or paint. To capture both the look and the feel of the person is challenging but, in the end, very satisfying.”
While known for his nudes of both genders, he now finds the most fulfillment in presenting the beauty and aesthetic of the naked male body. Using a variety of media, his nudes celebrate maleness in its most authentic, most exposed form. In painting him naked, DANZ strips away the mystery of the male, presenting him as both physically and emotionally open and free of shame.
The depiction of the nude form can naturally arouse some element of erotic feeling. However, DANZ goal is not to be unnecessarily erotic or salacious, rather to simultaneously express virility and vulnerability of the male depicted; to evoke an innate quality of the male human that needs no masking or hiding. Whether presented as dramatic or playful, sensuous or silly, alone or in a group, DANZ paintings of nude males bring to the viewer an insight into the intimate world of masculinity experienced by few.