Nudity has been an ever present element of the visual arts for thousands of years. From the bronze and marble statues of the ancient Greeks to Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, Ingres’ La Grande Odalisque to Lucian Freud’s Naked Portrait on a Red Sofa, the human form in all its anatomical glory has been studied and captured by visual artists countless times and has rarely been considered taboo. The same cannot be said for nudity in other arenas of the arts. Whether it be dance, theatre or performance art, nudity still has the power to scandalise.

Butt Naked Salon, an upcoming collaboration between the Australian Art Quartet, composer and publisher Andrew Batt-Rawden and Archibald Prize-winning artist Wendy Sharpe hopes to bridge the gap between the visual arts and live performance and breakdown some of the stigmas still attached to viewing the naked form in the flesh.

 The Australian Art Quartet

At Sydney’s Yellow House, during a performance of Batt-Rawden’s 2012 quartet 27, the composer will appear as a life model, reclining naked for Sharpe and other artists present to sketch him. Sharpe’s study will be painted onto the...