TheGreatNude, an online video magazine focused on the Figurative Arts, celebrates it’s 10th Anniversary this year.
Launched in 2007, the collection of content at www.TheGreatNude.TV is an expanding “media library” designed to promote The Nude in modern culture. Inspired by a desire to document and promote the contemporary figurative artists in New York City, TheGreatNude features videos and articles in which “The Nude” plays a central role. Some of the early interviews with well-known artists like Carole Feuerman, collectors Howard Tullman, and the lengthy visual reviews of major gallery shows and art fairs established this as a serious publication that had the support of the figurative arts community.
During the first few years, several articles and art-videos were produced and posted each month, many featuring guest artists invited to showcase their skills and provide brief tutorial comments. Many of New York City’s most popular art school models have squeezed into the publisher’s tiny 1 room studio in Hell’s Kitchen where a crew of 3-4 people set the stage for the playful “Recreation of Master Paintings”. The magazine also expanded it’s editorial coverage over a few short years to include international artists and exhibitions with it’s small staff of artist contributors that included Lilianne Milgrom, Scott Goodwillie, along with numerous interns. An Artist Registry was eventually established and events were designed to provide working artists with low-cost opportunities to sell and promote their careers.
Starting with the “TheGreatNude Invitational 2010“ which presented 27 figurative artists from around the world for 4 days at the Roger Smith Hotel. The exhibition included artists such as Odd Nerdrum, Richard Thomas Scott, Adam Miller, Walter Robinson, Daniel Maidman among others. The Life Drawing events spanned three day weekend, and a Sunday morning panel included Vincent Desiderio and Donald Kuspit.
Many events followed, with several held at the Jacob Javits Center, staged to allow passers-by to join the artists drawing on the exhibition hall floor. Several Miami-based exhibits and Life Drawing events were also held during the Art Basel Miami art fair season, along with more NY events like the Governor’s Island Art Fair. The most recent event was a “Celebration of Life Drawing“ which offered artworks for sale on display in a Landmark Brownstone in Greenwich Village NY, featuring 5 artists (Sherry Camhy, Janet A. Cook, John Wellington, Leah Poller, Jeffrey Wiener) and several nights of Life Drawing.
Over the last 10 years, TheGreatNude’s platforms on Social Media have become just as important as the destination website, exposing figurative artists works to millions, with followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. In the past 10 years, the amount of webpages posted online featuring the artworks of hundreds of artists numbers in the thousands. TheGreatNude’s YouTube Channel‘s 87 videos have over 32K subscribers and have received over 23 million views.
In the next year, TheGreatNude will be producing several events and rereleasing the most popular videos and articles. The expanding catalog of webpages and art videos archived on TheGreatNude.TV and YouTube will continue to support the Artists Registry with a perpetual stream of online viewers.
If you are interested in learning more about TheGreatNude.tv, please contact Jeffrey Wiener at [email protected].
