The reason that I offered that background concerning those three events is because it helps me to explain what John Perreault was doing socially/culturally and/or politically when Alice Neel created it.

Alice Neel was a humanist and a feminist who chose to directly combat the male gaze that perpetrated women as sexual seductresses and objects for male pleasure. Alice Neel was inspired by and used the impact of the Sexual Revolution as a way to show people's nude body outside of a sexual sphere. When women and men are given a space to embrace sexuality, they are also equally able to reject it. Therefore, Neel was able to do what she became famous for and use nude images to depict people not in a sexual light, but in a real, human way. Without knowledge of the Sexual Revolution, one may not realize that Neel was shedding a sexual nature in her nudes instead of promoting one.

The 1972 exhibition, The Male Nude, showcased the closeness in the relationship between Neel and Perreault as he was able to just “call her up” when he wanted her input on curating the exhibition. From that phone call, the decision to make Alice Neel’s John Perreault was made due to Neel’s desire to not let Perreault’s exhibition be the only one without new paintings to showcase. From the way Perreault describes the interaction, one is able to appreciate Neel’s goals for the image and the choice in Perreault’s posing. There is a friendliness and respect between the two, evidenced by the kind gaze and comfortable, relaxed pose. Perreault also joked that, “My penis came out much larger in the painting,” playfully suggesting that perhaps Neel did that as a favor or as a sign of friendship as when she paints people “she could be quite devastating.” He also felt quite appreciative of her viewing him as a faun. Knowledge of The Male Nude gives a large amount of insight behind the making of John Perreault, the relationship between subject and artist, and the realness that Neel was known for that is exuding throughout the painting.

John Perreault was an early member of Visual AIDS, credited by member Robert Atkins as having the idea to do a day without art. Therefore, without John Perreault, the way in which the Day Without Art was (and sometimes still is) celebrated may not have ever come about nor would it have evolved into the celebration of art that it is now. Knowing that he was a strong advocate for gay rights, along with the fact that he was openly gay, and proper education regarding health adds to Neel’s painting as she is also advocating for sexual freedom. As mentioned prior, Neel was a humanist, hoping to paint him as he was. During a time where being openly gay was strongly discouraged, Neel was trying to convey some of the same things as Perreault was through the Day Without Art: be yourself, unabashedly.

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