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A while back, Cultural Exchange co-host and all round
busy art person M.M. Plumm told us that she was
opening a Shanghai chapter of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art
School. We were all like ‘OK, drawing is cool, whatevs.
Are you sure this Dr. Sketchy is a real doctor?’ and
promptly moved on to other things, probably trying
to make up lame puns about DJs or something. Then
we had a look into it and realized, holy crap, this is
going to be insane.
The first event was a cornucopia of booze, art and
nudity, a legendary triforce which united to radiate
good vibes for all. The models, Meredith and Aliang,
were plenty naked, but it wasn’t weird for anybody
and actually cool to be able to be all ‘right, that’s how
you draw collarbones.’ There were people there who
were real life artists and created real life art in minutes
and it was hella impressive. At the other end of the
spectrum were people like me (enthusiastic about
drawing, but kinda suck at it), who just went apeshit
with the crayons and still had the best time and even
won spectacular prizes.
If you’re reading this mag just as it comes out, there’s
still time to head to BLOC to see Sketchy’s get all
skeletal as they present Bare Bones, this time round
with the help of Basement 6. They’ll be turning the
upstairs of BLOC into a crypt and the models into
real life skeletons, so if you get bored of drawing the
outsides of people, you can paint the insides of them
as well.
Before the first event, Plumm managed to grab some
time with Dr. Sketchy’s founder, the artist Molly
Crabapple, who had just got back from Guantanamo
Bay. Crabapple explained how her experiences in the
rather, um, sketchy world of life modeling had inspired
her to create something better; something that took
the creepiness out of the process and replaced it with
booze, burlesque, theatre and mayhem, and which
celebrated, rather than overwrote, the humanity of
the models.
O
nce upon a time, I never would’ve
predicted questions like ‘can you doublecheck your areola size for me?’ would
become a routine part of my life. Like a sufferer of
Tobias Fünke’s Nevernude Syndrome, I’ve always been
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slightly uncomfortable with human physicality. Being
in any sort of position that would have gorgeous
models—professionally beautiful human beings—
emailing me with body shots and measurements as
I scour Taobao for flesh-toned boxer briefs was never
part of the plan.
That was before I took on the Shanghai launch of Dr.
Sketchy’s Anti-Art School.
Plans change.
It all started last year when I stumbled across “The
World of a Professional Naked Girl” by artist, activist,
and Vice columnist Molly Crabapple. In the article,
she details her relationship with beauty framed
within some of her more brutal experiences with
the underworld of life-modeling. It was also the first
time I had thought about nude modeling outside
the context of a formal art class, the first time I had
thought about the work involved and the physical and
mental toll of being objectified for profit.
Last Christmas Eve, I ordered Crabapple’s Dr. Sketchy’s
Rainy Day Colouring Book during a 20-minute $1 plusshipping promotion. Around a month later, I poured
over my new acquisition: a cleverly conceptualized
tome detailing the philosophies, history, and stories of
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. I read it cover-to-cover
until it literally fell apart, and then I applied to open a
Shanghai branch.
Which brings us to now.
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is a drawing party.
More specifically, it’s a 3-hour, formally structured
drawing event that combines vivacious performers,
burlesque theatre, alcohol, and ruckus to create a
lively atmosphere in which models are paid well and
celebrated, admired, and respected as human beings.
Helping out are the Art Monkeys, artistic volunteers
who lend a hand with the show in exchange for free
admission and drawing time. Small business and
independent arts community sponsors offer prizes for
informal drawing contests for frivolous feats of skill,
such as “best rendering of the model as a fanciful
beast” and “best incorporation of a woodland
creature into a drawing.” The audience is encouraged
to hoot, holler, drink, and tip.
Molly Crabapple launched the first branch at
Brooklyn’s Lucky Cat café in 2005. ‘It came from a »
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