There are few things as immeasurably beautiful as the human form. For many artists, the smooth, rounded curves of a naked body speak a kind of poetry. This poetry exists within each of us, but few are willing to share it with others. Yet every week at Brandeis, a few students shed their clothes and stand nude before a room of strangers. They are artistic muses and it is their job to inspire. "I had seen a sign on campus saying that modeling paid $40 for two hours. So I thought, good money, easy job, why not?" Emily Van Metre '06 said, explaining how she stumbled into nude figure modeling. She is one of a handful of Brandeis students who occasionally pose-sometimes clothed, sometimes nude-for art classes at the university.

There are a number of Brandeis courses, most of them studio art classes within the fine arts department, that use live models.

"We used live models in almost every single art class I've taken except 3-D design," Eris Poringer '05, a studio art major, said.

Studio art classes like Beginning Painting, Beginning Drawing and higher-level painting and drawing classes each use models, as does the graduate level-Life Drawing theater class. There is also the Life Drawing Sketch Group, a club chartered by the Student Union Government, which uses models on a weekly basis.

To find models for the classes, art students post flyers advertising modeling positions as well as occasionally recruiting their friends. Miriam Landau '07, who began modeling for the Life Drawing Class this year, was surprised when she saw a flier looking for models.

"I didn't think that many Brandeis kids would just volunteer to throw their clothes off," she said.

Landau was right. Most of the models appearing in the classes are not Brandeis students, but residents from the local area.

There are strict rules of conduct for classes that use live models. No cell phones are allowed because they might contain cameras. Once the class begins, the doors are closed and no one but the model, artists and professor is allowed to enter. According to Poringer, there is a sort of etiquette to the whole process, noting that everyone involved has to be very mature about the whole experience.

The classes are usually capped at 20 students to encourage a comfortable, intimate and supportive environment both for the models and the artists.

"We don't have any voyeurs in class. There is tremendous respect for the models," Prof. Robert Moody (THA), who teaches Life Drawing, said. "If the person is uncomfortable, they can't be a good model. They won't be inspiring. The more inspirational the model, the better the student art will turn out."

Models are allowed to decide whether they will be clothed depending on their level of comfort. Moody said that he usually prefers models to be completely nude so that students can learn more about the human figure.

Some students, like studio art major Rachel Margolies '06, are exempted from painting or sketching nudes because of personal beliefs. In Margolies' case, she said that as an Orthodox Jew she would be uncomfortable seeing a naked man before she is married. All of her professors have been very accommodating to her beliefs, giving her alternate assignments and even having models pose clothed specifically so she could join the class, she said.

During her only modeling session for the Life Drawing Group, Van Metre decided she was comfortable enough to be completely nude. Landau, on the other hand, chooses to wear underwear when she models.

"I haven't tried to be totally nude because I assumed I wouldn't be comfortable," Landau said.

The classes begin with the models striking a few quick poses so that they and the artists can warm up. The models then pose for progressively longer periods, taking breaks about every twenty minutes. The modeling can often be quite exhausting-both physically and mentally. Instead of resting between breaks, Landau works hard at dreaming up her next pose.

"I think, what can I possibly hold for five or more minutes that will be interesting to look at and not impossible to hold," Landau said. "It's tiring. After the session I just want to sleep."

Van Metre also quickly learned that posing for an art class was not the easy job she had once assumed it to be. "I think that [the artists] expect you to turn into a bowl of fruit or a still life or something when they start. You're supposed to remain perfectly still, which is really hard work."

While she enjoyed her brief stint as an art model, Van Metre said she wouldn't want the job for an entire semester because of its intense physical demands.

Those who choose to model for art classes have a myriad of reasons for becoming artistic muses.

Sheryl Oppenheim '05, a studio art major, is usually content with being a painter, but she has modeled a few times for a graduate-level course to know what it feels like to be on the other side of a canvas. Both Landau and Van Metre acknowledged that the money was a nice perk of modeling, but they also said they got more out of the experience than simply a larger bank account.

"It's cool to walk around the room and see artists' perception of your body, and to have the experience of being naked in a room full of people and not feel like people are seeing you as you, but just as another human form. It's barrier-breaking," Van Metre said.

Live figure drawing can be an incredibly important tool for artists. Using nude models offers artists the chance to capture the true essence of the form of the human body.

"There is so little in our culture that allows us to study the body in a serious way," said Prof. Joseph Wardwell (FA), who teaches numerous classes that use live models.

Most people who model for the art classes are not the images of perfection seen in magazines. According to Poringer, it is actually better for the artists if the models have imperfections.

"Your model, the more they look like something perfect, the less complexity they have. If they are perfect you don't even see a person, you just see an icon," he said.

Moody commented that what distinguishes a good model from a bad one is the ability to be real, to inspire, to strike poses with real motivation behind them.

Nude modeling presents both the model and the artists with the rare chance to admire the human form in all of its magnificence. Reflecting on her time spent modeling, Van Metre was surprised by the way in which nudity was transformed into something natural and accepted.

"It's like that dream, where you show up to school completely naked, and at first no one notices, so you think to yourself: Maybe if I just don't bring attention to it, I can casually just finish the school day and head home to put clothes on.