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Naked Iggy Pop Sketches by TriBeCa Art Class Now On View at Brooklyn Museum

By Irene Plagianos | November 9, 2016 12:14pm | Updated on November 9, 2016 2:47pm
 Iggy Pop was a surprise model for a drawing class at TriBeCa's New York Academy of Art
Iggy Pop was a surprise model for a drawing class at TriBeCa's New York Academy of Art
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Elena Olivo/ Brooklyn Museum

Rock legend Iggy Pop, never one to shy away from nudity, has officially made his naked body a work of art.

The 69-year-old surprised a New York Academy of Art class in February when he was announced as the naked model for their four-hour drawing class.

The course, unbeknownst to its participants — 21 diverse artists who ranged in age from 19- to 80-years-old — was the "performative" piece of a planned Brooklyn Museum exhibit, called Iggy Pop Life Class.

The exhibit, now on display, includes all of the artists' sketches, along with works from the museum's historical collections "that depict the male body, examining shifting representations of masculinity throughout history," according to a statement from the museum.

Sketch by Angel Ramirez, Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

The exhibition, the brainchild of Turner Prize–winning artist Jeremy Deller, will run through March 26 — and all those sketches are now the property of the museum. The artists were chosen by Deller, and asked to participate, without knowing who'd they be drawing.

"Iggy Pop has one of the most recognizable bodies in popular culture," Deller said in a statement. "A body that is key to an understanding of rock music, and that has been paraded, celebrated, and scrutinized through the years in a way that is unusual for a man. It is also fair to say that it has witnessed a lot. It was for these reasons that I wanted him to sit for a life class."

Sketch by Guno Park, Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.

As for Iggy Pop, he seemed to have a pretty good time with his modeling stint.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “It was not about anything silly. It wasn’t about my winkie, or anything. It was just a documentation of what’s left of me. I thought it was a good idea the artist had and I enjoyed so much the company of the 21 [it's 22] drawing students and working artists."