To ask DH to take nude pics down in the room that I tutor

[bananacarnival]

DH is an artist, his paintings are all abstract and all over the house but his sketches of male nudes have been making an appearance in our living room which happens to be where I tutor children (primary).
He's adamant that there's nothing wrong with it and gets agitated every time I take a sketch down before I tutor. I'm wary of children's reactions as well as some of the parents, as they're not all cultured/broad minded or whatever it is you need to be to be accepting of nudity in Art. Some of them are religious and it just makes me feel uncomfortable about their potential reaction.
I should point out that with the current sketch on display there's a bum on view - no genitals.

Thanks in advance.

An art gallery or museum is an entirely different environment from a school, office, or other workplace. It is appropriate to see art in a museum. Although, if we pursue that line of thought, do we have any evidence his art would be deemed to be of enough quality to be displayed in a museum?

It wouldn't bother me. However, some people would be bothered, so I think it's best to take them down. Would he rather leave them up, and have the parents who are offended choose another tutor?

I totally misread the title as "To ask DH to take nude pics - down in the room that I tutor?"

I thought this was going to be asking if ok for him to take nude pics of you in your classroom... Which would be very wrong!

Anyway.... As a fellow artist who loves to do life painting, I would put them up in a tutor room, but it depends a lot what they are like. Some nudes are a bit more subtle than others. If a blokes tackle are all on display YANBU, not really right for kids to stare at. If it's artsy torsos, it wouldn't be so bad.

At the end of the day, it's where you conduct your business, so you should have final say!

but his sketches of male nudes have been making an appearance in our living room

Quite apart from your tutoring, OP - don't you have a say in what goes up on your walls of your family home? Or are they beautiful and you want them around?

I agree with most of the others. The living room is not the living room while you're tutoring. It's your workplace.

It sounds like he has a problem separating out what he thinks from what everyone else ought to think. He needs to get over himself - this is a working environment, even if it is also your home. If one of my team decided to put artistic nudes up on the walls of the office I would tell them that's just not OK, even if we were all fine with it, because there are people coming in and out who would be uncomfortable with it.

It's your workplace, you decide and, just do it!

Is he hoping to make a few sales from your clients? Or just to impose his superior sensibility on their little minds?

From your POV I think it's about making your clients feel comfortable and creating an environment conducive to learning.

As a parent, I wouldn't be too bothered but might see it as an odd choice, just because it might seem to personalise the work space too much. I wouldn't really want to be your friend, so welcomed into your very personal home environment. It's a fine line, working in your home but I would expect you to work in a room that's more neutral than others.

I think AMum has it - he thinks anyone who disagrees with him is wrong so their opinions are to be overridden by his superior taste.

Why does he get agitated? That's a very odd reaction to someone taking down a picture for a while. I guess you hang them up when the tutoring is over? He isn't in the room while you are tutoring, is he?

Oh come on, they're CHILDREN. Leaving aside whether it's inappropriate or not I've never met a child who, upon seeing a bum, can restrain themselves from thinking or even saying 'LOOK! A BUM! ABUMABUMABUM! BUM!". It's a distraction, and when you're teaching the last thing you want them to be focusing on is 'my tutor has BUM PICTURES!".

Take em down, your husband's being silly, YANBU.

Do you work for an education agency? One complaint from a parent to your agency or the NSPCC could become a child protection issue. You could certainly lose work because of this which will affect your income. I would be very concerned if a child I knew was being tutored in a room with nude drawings.

Tell your DH that if he wants to display a picture in the living room he has to draw something that is appropriate for a child to see.

He sounds very undergraduate in his attitude towards his art

Yes, inappropriate. And it's your workspace, so you get to design it whichever way is most appropriately geared for you.

Tell your H that grownups tend to not have to make such a PERFORMANCE about being broadminded and able to appreciate art, and are sufficiently mature to balance that with other considerations. So he needn't fret that you are such a dreadful square - you're just not 19 any more

He sounds like a child. Although I suppose his graduation to painting nudes and framing them rather than crayoning cocks and balls onto the sitting room walls must be a positive development.

But seriously, if this is your workspace, ideally it needs to be neutral and certainly if you are tutoring children, it strikes me as unnecessary and inappropriate to hang these particular pictures in that very same space.

What causes his agitation? The fact that they have been moved or that he thinks someone doesn't like them?

I agree with others who have pointed out that the children being tutored will be massively distracted by even something as innocuous as a bottom.

I'm sure even fluffy kittens and hairy dogs - all tastefully covered - would attract attention!

YANBU, but just take them down without discussing it with him any more. Is he around for your tutoring sessions?

God how precious and annoying he sounds.

Is he generally unsupportive about your business etc?

Why not come up with a compromise in which he does child friendly pictures.

The reason I wouldn't like it is because it could be distracting.

It's not just up to him! Surely this is a joint decision and if one of you isn't happy that pic doesn't go there!?

So he's agitated - so what? I would make some big frilly paper pants and stick them over the bum in retaliation.

Why not come up with a compromise in which he does child friendly pictures.

Do excuse me while I roll about in hilarity at the idea of asking An Artist who is clearly of the Arrogant School to draw anything of the such. I was married to an art teacher (whose brother actually is quite a well known painter) and he'd have considered it unreasonable beyond belief to have a mere mortal suggest his subject matter.

I didn't realise artist was so sensitive.

Not all artists are so sensitive, of course. In fact I have a couple of delightful friends who are both artists and not at all up their own arses.

But the OP's DH does not come across like that. Instead, he reminds me of the Other Sorts of Artists whose art has to be treated like an Unquestioned and Omnipotent Thing. As indeed do they.

What a fucking idiot. He's prepared to risk your livelihood for his vanity. I'd be happy for you to quote that to him.

In any case, it's your place of work. He can hang his artwork in the private areas of the house. If it was that good he wouldn't need to because they'd be in galleries being sold.

Wow! I believe that there is nothing shameful about the naked human body, but come on... how on earth does he think that pupils and their parents want to see nude paintings whilst they are being taught?

Can he really not see why some parents may feel this is just a tad inappropriate?

I would be very wary of a tutor that had nude pics up in their room - not because I think it is particularly inappropriate for my kids to see this per se, but because it would, to me, show a lack of judgement on the tutor's part - either that had failed to consider this altogether (then what else may they think is appropriate that most people would not?) or they had considered it and gone ahead anyway to prove some strange point. Not great either way.

Oh I couldn't be arsed with that crap op.

Tell him to do one.

And why does he only paint nude men? Don't all the bollocks over your wall get on your tits?

I have just asked 14 year old DD. She said she wouldn't feel comfortable. she also said that perhaps your husband might be gay.

Butbaker I was thinking why only nude males.