The Museum of Modern Art in New York city is currently hosting a live expression of art by Marina Abromovic, featuring nude women, recreating works from a previous exhibit held in Italy in 1977. One of the pieces features two nude women, standing facing each other in a doorway, where viewers walk between them (well, some viewers). Another features a nude woman reclined, with a fake skeleton on top of her, rising and falling with her breathing.

There have been many arguments of whether nude art is appropriate or inappropriate for younger, budding artists, be it a nude statue in a park, or a Renaissance painting on a school field trip. Recently, my second grader showed me a picture book in school about Ancient Rome, where tiny little Romans were illustrated bathing in communal Roman baths. When is "naked" okay?

The difference with the above mentioned examples, of course, is that they are images, 3-D or otherwise. Images portraying life. Abromovic's exhibit is made of real, live, breathing humans. Would you take your teen to view this exhibit?

For more information on the Abromovic exhibit, see this article from the Associated Press.

April Scarlett is a freelance writer. Find her work at www.fromherdesk.com, www.aprilscarlettwrites.blogspot.com, www.aprilscarlettmotherboard.blogspot.com and on Facebook, search ASW-April Scarlett Writes.