James Davidson 

Davidson went to a new exhibition of the body in Greek art called the ‘Naked ambition’ in this he noticed that the male nude sculptures and nudity have become normal to us over the past 2,500 years, and it is what we expect from ancient statues. Most statues are ignored when going around a museum for example and people do not tend to focus on them as art pieces, or look at the muscular figures of the Greek sculptures. ‘Ancient statues are looked at and not seen’. When noticing the Greek statues Davidson said there is something which all seem to have, he said that the statues reveal a ‘ superb imperial torso that would not disgrace the cover of Men’s Health magazine. I think that this shows how even since 300 BC when human sculptures were formed, there was still an idea of the ‘perfect male’ and how men had to have a perfect torso to make them attractive. The ‘Greek nude’ which Davidson addresses is to do with nudity in practice, Greek homosexuality, a passion for gymnasium and athletics. One concept which Davidson also relates to seems to be the idea of body building, ‘ Nudity was a kind of costume, an idea enhanced by the fact that much time seems to have been spent oiling oneself up and scraping oneself down.’ I think that this implies the idea of bodybuilding and how men choose to make them self look as muscly as possible by using other factors such as oil to make their personal aesthetics appear greater, i.e. to make the bodybuilders more muscly on stage in a competition. 

‘Often cited as an example of balance and geometry, but the abstracted albeit beautiful classical head contrasts with the straining toes in balance not just of weight but of realism against idealism.’http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/20/naked-ambition-why-the-greeks-first-stripped-nude

Throughout this review in the newspaper Davidson covers the Greek male statues and why we are not concerned by their nakedness, and says that we are so use to seeing these Greek statues with no clothes on that we have come accustomed to it, and it does not surprise us as it use to in 300 BC. These masculine figures are covered from head to toe in muscles, and have amazing torsos, and Davidson questions whether this is why nowadays males are so concerned with getting the ‘perfect’ male body, which includes these masculine aesthetics.