Identifying What is Culturally Unacceptable

Last Wednesday I came across something interesting. My father and I were trying to kill time. We were waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity to get my learner’s licence. Actually, it was a mere four hours... I can’t believe the Royal Oman Police still operates old school! Yes, they still enter forms manually, set up records on paper, and store them in box files. I appreciate the attempt to preserve tradition in a world that is rapidly gearing toward total globalization and modernization, but they could have reserved the show for another Muscat Festival; because that system is sure as heck highly ineffective. Anyway, the incredibly time-consuming wait at the licence office was not what I found interesting. It was something that my father said when he had run out of things to say in those four precious hours that were used for parent-child bonding: he wanted to know how my drawings were progressing.

The Sri Lankan Social Club here in Oman is organizing an Art and Photography exhibition somewhere in Muscat the coming month. And yours truly is to contribute a few of her pencil drawings to the collection. Now I’ve been working quite hard on those pictures, and meeting deadlines has never been my thing. In fact, I’ve grown to sort of purposely turn in things well past their due date. However, I figured that the exhibition wasn’t exactly going to wait for me, unlike a term paper or report (which my teachers just couldn’t refuse, even if they were turned in late, since I presented them with my best and most persuasive angel-face...). So yes, I’m dealing with it this time. And downing much caffeine in the process.

But I digress! I’m sorry, I have a tendency to ramble. Getting down to the point, here’s the conversation between my father and I that I would like to share:

Dad: “So, how are your drawings going?”

Me: “Good.”

Dad: “What are you working on right now?”

Me: “A male figure.”

Dad: “You’re not allowed to draw nudes.”

Me: “WHAT??! But this guy doesn’t have anything exposed!”

Dad: “You still can’t draw nudes. It’s against the exhibition rules.”

Me: “Are you serious? What the hell kind of exhibition is that?!”

Dad: “I don’t know ‘what the hell’ but those are the rules. The committee declared that art involving nudes were culturally unacceptable.”

Culturally unacceptable my ass! Yes I was seething when he said that, and we didn’t talk for another two hours as I took in the whole point. Culturally unacceptable?
There are two things, besides not informing me about the rules earlier, that annoy me to no end.

1. The study of the human body is one of the fundamental topics covered in art schools around the world (and I’m sure in Sri Lanka as well). Banning art on this particular area is like taking away the freedom of an artist to express his/her ideas and feelings. The human body, being such a vast subject, is capable of conveying so many emotions. I don’t like landscapes or abstract art much, and still life and the human body is what I love to do. Yet I can no longer show anybody what I am truly capable of. I cannot twist and turn a body, play with shadows and light, and push the expression of a pose or the face of the figure to its limits. In short, I feel caged and very very angry.



2. The second reason is probably the most annoying. It’s the fact that certain people still view nudity as culturally unacceptable. What is it about the human body that people of my culture cringe away from? What is it about themselves that they do not wish to see? Is it being born naked like everybody else? Is it that they feel inadequate under their clothes? Or is it that they view the human body as something ugly and perverted?

As far as culturally unacceptable is concerned, I personally think that there are worse things than nudity that the Sri Lankan people should be ashamed of. And one of those things is the fact that most Sri Lankans lack the simple courage to stand up and speak out against an injustice. Sri Lankans like to sit in the comfort of their homes and point and blame and curse the government for not doing anything about the situation. They criticize the president, yet provide no solution to the country’s situation. They don’t vote, however they claim the right to complain about the guy in charge of their district. If they object to something worth objecting to, they just do it all in the privacy of their homes. Voices go unheard. A chance for change just passes them by. Our country is regressing. So who’s to blame?

So, while most Sri Lankans in Oman are worrying about whether an artist puts up a drawing of a nude, I’ll be teaching my students to stand up for what they believe in.

Oh and yes, I will be addressing this at the exhibition.

I will stand up for what I believe in.