Policy on Artistic Expression of the Human Body

This policy outlines Wheaton College’s approach to the artistic representation of the human body, aiming to uphold biblical convictions while fostering artistic and academic excellence. It is intended to guide students, faculty, and the broader campus community in navigating these complex issues with wisdom, sensitivity, and respect for our shared values.

The Wheaton College administration affirms the following general principles drawn from biblical foundations:

• The human body and our sexuality are, in themselves, good and glorious creations of a loving God.

• The clear trajectory of scriptural teaching emphasizes the cultivation of personal holiness and purity, fostered in part by an emphasis on modesty and the avoidance of sensualism as a Christian community.

• Together, these emphases suggest the wisdom of reticence in viewing the nude human body in most circumstances outside of the intimacy of a marital couple or in circumstances where practical necessity demands such (e.g., bathing a child, the athletic locker room, or during a medical examination), especially where sexual temptation could result. Such reticence or restraint in displaying or viewing the nude or undraped human body, nevertheless, is not a moral absolute but rather a means to the end of the cultivation of purity and holiness.

Administrative Guidelines and Policies Related to Artistic Expression of the Human Body 

From these general principles, the College draws the following practical and prudential guidelines.

Guidelines 

1. Given the fundamental goodness of our physical bodies and our sexuality, we affirm artistic interest in and godly representation of the human form.

2. As a Christian community, we affirm the opportunity to assist our student artists and indeed all of our students to develop biblically grounded, wise and wholesome understandings of the human body and of human sexuality. In addition to celebration of the human body, this will also include necessarily the scriptural teaching on modesty and the avoidance of sensualism.

3. The trajectory of scriptural teaching on modesty and the avoidance of sensualism, combined with the widely acknowledged struggles of many on our campus with pornography and sexual temptation as well as our responsibility to act deferentially in support of their well-being, together call for careful prudential judgments in the exhibition of artistic works from all sources around our campus. We thus will incline our judgments in the direction of restraint and modesty in exhibition of artworks that contain full frontal nudity or are sexually suggestive, salacious in nature, or contrary to the ethos of the Wheaton College Community Covenant.

4. We acknowledge that art is not only about celebrating created goodness or beauty but can be legitimately directed toward other purposes. Thus, the individual Christian artist as a matter of conscience or calling may be called to depict the nude human form to accomplish redemptive or prophetic purposes (such as striving to “expose what is evil” [Ephesians 5:11] or depicting our shame or human brokenness).

5. Practically, there are serious risks posed to our students through their personal portrayal as the subjects/models for works of art in recognizable images that are nude, sexually suggestive, salacious, or deliberately offensive. The new information climate makes these images difficult to control, which creates a current and future risk for students.

6. While artistic study of the human form is valuable and historically significant, we believe that the character formation of our students—including the cultivation of holiness, purity, modesty, avoidance of sensualism as a Christian community discernment, and respect for others—takes precedence in the unique context of Christian higher education. 

Operational Policies 

From these guidelines follow these specific operational policies regarding the exhibition of the nude human form within the context of our campus community:

1. In public spaces around campus artwork that displays explicit human frontal nudity will not be exhibited; exceptions may be approved by the President’s Art Commission acting on behalf of the Wheaton College President.  The following criteria will be considered:
   • Artistic intent and merit: Does the work serve a meaningful purpose in communicating truth, prompting reflection, or confronting injustice?
   • Audience sensitivity: How might the content be received by the broader campus community, including children, visitors, and staff?
   • Contextual framing: Will the exhibition include artist statements, content advisories, or guided discussions to aid interpretation?
   • Location and visibility: Is the proposed location appropriate for the nature of the content? Would a more controlled or invitation-only setting be more appropriate?

2. The Adams Hall 3^rd floor galleries have been identified as a discretionary space where art students and others may apply to display more explicit images of the human body and other challenging images when 1) the student artist has submitted for approval both the art itself (for artistic merit) and a rationale justifying the exhibition;  and 2) the corpus of art and the rationale have been approved by an art faculty member and the department chair; and 3) the art is exhibited accompanied by a posted version of the statement of rationale (the artist’s statement).

3. Nowhere on campus will nude, sexually suggestive, salacious, or deliberately offensive images of recognizable Wheaton students be exhibited.

4. In deference to prevailing campus priorities, the use of nude (un-draped) human models in our Wheaton College educational preparation of visual arts students are prohibited.

5. No restrictions will be imposed on faculty in the use of textbooks and teaching materials that display the undraped human body. Faculty are free within the confines of a specific classroom during a teaching period to discuss and exhibit student art showing the undraped human body in ways that are consistent with our Community Covenant.

To request the complete document, Artistic Expression of the Human Body, please contact the Dean for Student Engagement at student.engagement@wheaton.edu.