Naked Dave
Encyclopedia
Naked Dave refers to a series of paintings created by Laura Molina, inspired by her relationship with illustrator
and Rocketeer creator, Dave Stevens
. A five-month long relationship between the artists ended in early December, 1978 after she miscarried their child at 11 weeks. Molina started the series in 1993 after an attempted reconciliation initiated by Stevens failed to settle things between them.
Stevens protested the use of his likeness, but Molina argued that she was protected from legal ramifications citing Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox Film (67 Cal. App.4th 318, 1997) in which Michael Polydoros contended that David Mickey Evans, the writer-director of the movie The Sandlot
had violated his privacy by including a character based on him. The courts ruled in favor of Twentieth Century Fox, stating the film was protected free speech.
A quote from Molina from "NakedDave.com" -
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and Rocketeer creator, Dave Stevens
Dave Stevens
Dave Stevens was an American illustrator and comics artist. He is most famous for creating The Rocketeer comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, especially of model Bettie Page...
. A five-month long relationship between the artists ended in early December, 1978 after she miscarried their child at 11 weeks. Molina started the series in 1993 after an attempted reconciliation initiated by Stevens failed to settle things between them.
Stevens protested the use of his likeness, but Molina argued that she was protected from legal ramifications citing Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox Film (67 Cal. App.4th 318, 1997) in which Michael Polydoros contended that David Mickey Evans, the writer-director of the movie The Sandlot
The Sandlot
The Sandlot is a 1993 American comedy-drama sports film about a group of young baseball players during the summer of 1962. The film was filmed in Utah and directed by David M. Evans...
had violated his privacy by including a character based on him. The courts ruled in favor of Twentieth Century Fox, stating the film was protected free speech.
Overview
Stevens appears as the objectified subject of six paintings in an internet art presentation called NakedDave.com. It uses male iconography, including Greek gods, cowboys and astronauts to create an idealized depiction of Stevens. In 1998. the paintings were presented on the web with commentary from the artist and her audience. The series, the artist, and web site have been the subject of Dora Ramirez-Dhoore's 2005, 33 page essay "The Cyberborderland: Surfing the Web for Xicanidad" in the academic journal Chicana/Latina Studies (journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social), and were reported by Heidi MacDonald on her weblog, "The Beat - The News Blog of Comics Culture", February 18, 2005. In 2004, film makers Alex Schaffert and David Callaghan made a documentary short film about the project, which can be found on the Naked Dave website.A quote from Molina from "NakedDave.com" -