Iggy Pop is no stranger to exhibitionism: The 68-year-old proto-punk vocalist has only on rare occasion been photographed wearing a shirt, and his genitalia have been known to make guest appearances during live shows. So it should probably come as no surprise that the Stooges frontman recently agreed to serve as a life model for 21 art students aged 19 to 80 at the New York Academy of Art:
“The life class is a special place in which to scrutinize the human form. As the bedrock of art education and art history, it is still the best way to understand the body,” British artist Jeremy Deller says of the session, which he conceived. “For me, it makes perfect sense for Iggy Pop to be the subject of a life class; his body is central to an understanding of rock music and its place within American culture. His body has witnessed much and should be documented.”
The multitudinous renderings of the musician’s genitalia and time-weathered physique will be presented in a exhibition called “Iggy Pop Life Class” at the Brooklyn Museum this fall, which will subsequently tour to other museums. The corporeal Iggy Pop will also be going on tour this year with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme in support of their album Post Pop Depression, which will be released on March 18.