Iggy Pop Bares All

by Chris Nelson

Back in February 2016, Iggy Pop sat for 21 drawing students in a nude life class, in collaboration with Turner Prize-winning British artist Jeremy Deller. Now, the drawings have gone on display at the Brooklyn Museum, along with other, historical works depicting the male body.

Not one to be modest, Pop 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.”

Having long bared his body to adoring fans during live shows, the rock legend was the prime candidate for observing the aging male body. “Iggy Pop has one of the most recognizable bodies in popular culture,” as Deller clarified in a press release, “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.”

Iggy Pop Life Class, November 4, 2016 – June 18, 2017, Brooklyn Museum

Taylor Schultek